Pippins Draw Walk-off Win over BlueJackets

YAKIMA, Wa - The Yakima Valley Pippins won in walk-off fashion, 6-5, Sunday night at Yakima County Stadium in front of a season-high 2,139 fans as Chris Ceballos (Cal State Fullerton) drew the game-winning hit by pitch with two outs in the 9th inning against the Kitsap BlueJackets.

Trailing 5-4 entering the bottom half of the frame, Jace Van DeBrake (Gonzaga) kickstarted the rally with a leadoff HBP, eventually scoring the game-tying run. Mitchell Morimoto (Arizona) drove in VanDeBrake with an RBI sacrifice fly as he finished 1-3 at the plate with two runs scored.

After a strikeout forced the second out of the inning, Christian Koss (UC Irvine) walked to load the bases, resulting in Ceballo’s team-leading 7th RBI of the season. Tanner Simpson (Columbia Basin CC) earned the start, pitching 6.2 innings allowing three runs (2 ER) striking out a season-high eight batters; the Pippins' 8th-straight quality start.

The Yakima Valley Pippins (7-1) trailed 3-1 until Koss delivered an RBI single in the 6th inning, cutting the lead in half. After one unearned run scored in the 8th against reliever Jordan Bocko (UC Irvine), Koss tied things up with a 2-RBI single, one of four RBIs on the night for the rising freshman.

Connor Zwetsch (Oregon) made his season debut in the 9th inning, allowing one run on one hit, eventually earning the win. Cameron Haskell (UC Riverside) finished 2-5 in his debut, while Jay Schuyler (San Diego) extended his hit streak to nine games following a 3-5 effort at the plate.

The Pippins and BlueJackets return to action Monday night at 7:05 p.m. as Yakima Valley looks to extend its best start in team history.  Fans can listen to all the action live from "The Orchard" on 1460 ESPN Yakima starting at 6:50 p.m.