Too Little Too Late in Loss to Corvallis

CORVALLIS, 0r.- A near perfect start for right-hander Jesse Barron led the way en route to 6-3 Knights win.

Barron went 5 innings in the season opener in Yakima and shut down the Pippins, and he did it again in his effort today.

After Hank Dunn lined a leadoff double on the first pitch of the game, Barron would retire 15 straight batters until he was replaced in the 6th. He finished allowing that one baserunner and racking up 6 K’s.

On the Pippins side, incoming freshman at UCLA Chris Grothues found a nice groove. He struck out 3 in the first and retired the side in order in the second before running into trouble.

In the 3rd, an RBI single from Spencer Scott and an RBI from Kiko Romero put Corvallis in front.

The next inning, a close play at second would extend the 4th, and 3 runs would cross. By the end of the 6th it was a 5-0 Knights lead.

Great relief pitching provided opportunities for the Pippins as incoming freshman at Washington Isaac Yeager was superb. He pitched 4 innings of relief allowing only 1 run and helped keep it close.

The Pippins would fight and chip away. Connor Coballes had an RBI single in the 6th, Spencer Shipman had an RBI groundout in the 7th, and Coballes had another RBI sac-fly in the 8th.

The deficit was cut to 2, but an insurance run in the 8th pushed it to a 6-3 lead, and the Pippins couldn’t find success in the 9th inning in the loss.

The late push was promising to see from the squad early in the season, but the team couldn’t get over the hump in the first game in Corvallis.

The Pippins will look to even the series in tomorrow’s effort, with first pitch at 6:35.

By Zach McKinstry

June 18, 2022