Pippins Overpower Black Bears 8-1

YAKIMA, WA - The Yakima Valley Pippins scored runs in each of the first five innings, cruising towards a series win over the Cowlitz Black Bears, 8-1, on Tuesday night at Yakima County Stadium.

Freddy Smith (Cal State Northridge) started the scoring spree with a 2-out RBI triple in the 1st inning, one of two extra base hits on the night, giving the Pippins an early 1-0 lead. His second hit provided a key insurance run, an RBI double scoring Christian Koss (UC Irvine), making it 4-0.

Zach Haggett (Central Washington) earned his first win of the season throwing five innings of quality baseball, limiting the Black Bears to just three hits on four strikeouts. Haggett retired 10 of the first 11 men he faced, inducing a 5-4-3 double play to escape his lone threat in the 4th inning.

The Yakima Valley Pippins (31-19, 16-7) would add three more runs in the 5th inning stringing together four hits with two outs, including RBI base hits from Trevor Achenbach (Oklahoma Wesleyan) and Colton Kelly (Columbia Basin CC), extending the lead to 8-0. Marco Valenzuela (Nevada Reno) drove in one run during the 4th inning on an RBI squeeze bunt.

Tanner Simpson (Lewis-Clark State College) pitched the final four innings of the night, earning his first save of the season. Both teams return to action Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. for Fan Appreciation Night, the final home game of the 2016 regular season. Fans can listen to the game live on 1460 ESPN Yakima, the official home for Pippins Baseball.