Pippins Win High-Scoring Game, Will Play for Sweep Sunday

Pippins, Raptors combine for 26 runs

The Yakima Valley Pippins have won three straight series to start the season after defeating the Ridgefield Raptors, 17-9, Saturday night in the second of a three-game series. The Pippins will look for a sweep Sunday night, with first pitch at 6:05 p.m.

Pippins starting pitcher Kenny Johnson cruised through three innings while his offense staked him out to a 13-run lead.

They started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, when Chaz Myers scored from third base on a passed ball. With runners on second and third, Sam Olsson flew out to right field for a sacrifice fly, scoring Willie Lajoie. 

Michael Carpentier then tripled to score Noah Williamson, which Shanks followed up with a triple of his own to score Carpentier Jr.

The Pippins added three more runs in the second inning, thanks in large part to a pair of miscues by Ridgefield right fielder Caden Connor. With Corey Jarrell on second base, Connor slipped after catching a pop fly that allowed Jarrell to advance to third easily. Connor Coballes lined the next pitch right at Connor, who couldn’t make the catch, allowing Jarrell to score and Coballes to reach second.

After Coballes stole third base, Willie Lajoie would follow with his second base hit of the night to drive in the run. He would score when Sam Olsson’s hit to right field slipped underneath the outfield wall for a ground-rule double. 

Raptors starter Hudson Leach (0-1, 10.50 ERA) was chased after just two innings, having given up eight runs (six earned). Jett Lodes (0-0, 9.00 ERA) didn’t fare much better, facing eight Pippins hitters – walking one, hitting three, giving up four base hits and allowing five earned runs – without recording an out. 

Byron Clack came on to bail him out of the inning, then added a scoreless fourth inning to keep the Pippins off the board for the first time in the game.

The Raptors scored a pair of runs in both the fourth and fifth innings in nearly identical fashion, with Will Chambers knocking two-run home runs following Coby Morales walks. The four runs were the only runs surrendered by Johnson (2-0, 3.27 ERA) in his five innings of work. He struck out five and walked three.

Joey Cammarata (0-0, 13.50 ERA) took over in the sixth, starting strong by striking out Cole Urman before surrendering three base hits. A passed ball scored one runner before Cammarata loaded the bases again with a walk. A John Peck sacrifice fly cut the Pippins lead to 13-6.

The Pippins responded in the bottom of the sixth with three runs of their own, thanks this time to an error by Peck at second base that allowed Jarrell to reach to start the inning. He would steal second base, and two outs later Lajoie and Noah Williamson would hit back-to-back RBI doubles before an RBI base hit by Sam Olsson.

Tyler Frieders (0-1, 7.71 ERA) pitched the final three innings of the game to pick up the save, though he gave up two runs in the seventh and one in the ninth inning.

The Pippins would yet another run in the bottom of the eighth inning, when Lajoie scored from first on a double by Williamson to give the Pippins their 17th run of the game.

 

By Chris Rosato Jr.

June 13, 2021