Pippins Welcome UW Huskies for Second Straight Season

Four UW Huskies, including one returner from 2021, will head to Yakima

YAKIMA, Wash. – The Yakima Valley Pippins featured players from the University of Washington for the first time in 2021, and they will repeat that this year when four Huskies make the trip to Yakima.

Peysen Sweeney returns to the Pippins for his second season and will be joined by outfielder Luke Rohleder, who played in the West Coast League for the Bellingham Bells last season, as well as pitchers Reilly McAdams and Isaac Yeager.

“I’m happy to continue to build the relationship with the Huskies that we started last year,” Pippins head coach Kyle Krustangel said. “(Huskies pitching) Coach (Elliott) Cribby and I go way back, and we share the same goal of strong player development to build success.”

Sweeney provided depth to Yakima Valley’s pitching staff last summer before heading to Washington for his freshman year. He had nine relief appearances in the regular season for the Pippins, going 0-2 with a save and a 5.82 ERA in 17 innings. Sweeney also appeared in two playoff games, striking out a pair over 1.2 innings without allowing a run.

Rohleder played with Bells on a 10-day contract last summer after breaking Everett Community College’s single-season stolen base record last spring. He will play his sophomore season at UW this spring.

He went 2-for-8 at the plate with one strikeout and one walk over seven games in Bellingham.

McAdams did not get to play his senior season of high school in 2020 due to COVID-19 and didn’t make an appearance in 2021 with the Huskies in his freshman season, but the towering 6-foot-6 right-hander was a top high-school prospect after posting a sub-1.00 ERA in his junior year.

Yeager will play for the Pippins before heading to UW for his freshman season in the fall. Standing 6-foot-6 as well, the Bishop Blanchet High School senior’s fastball sits in the high 80s and has been clocked as high as 91 mph.

The Pippins open their eighth WCL season at Yakima County Stadium on June 3 with a rematch of the 2021 West Coast League Championship Series against Corvallis. Tickets are available at PippinsTickets.com.

By Chris Rosato Jr.

February 11, 2022