Falcons Host Pippins
- Updated: June 22, 2018
The Kelowna Falcons return home to begin a six-game home stand against a familiar foe as they take on the Yakima Valley Pippins for a weekend set, beginning Friday night at Elks Stadium.
2018 Season Series
Tuesday, June 19th @ Yakima County Stadium (9-2 Falcons) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, June 20th @ Yakima County Stadium (14-6 Pippins) (BOXSCORE)
Thursday, June 21st @ Yakima County Stadium (13-5 Pippins) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, June 22nd @ Elks Stadium (6:35 PM)
Saturday, June 23rd @ Elks Stadium (6:35 PM)
Sunday, June 24th @ Elks Stadium (6:35 PM)
A Series Ago
Both teams are coming in having had seen each for three straight days prior to their series up north. The Falcons came into the series after having taken two of three against the Wenatchee AppleSox and opened the series strong with a 9-2 victory on Tuesday while compiling a season-high 15 hits in the win. The fortunes changed as the series prolonged as Yakima Valley snapped a four-game losing skid (and ended the Falcons three-game winning streak) with a 14-6 victory in the second game of the series, setting up a rubber match on Thursday. The Pippins came out with 15 hits of their own and won the series with a 13-5 win in the finale of the three-game set.
Inside The Foul Poles
Kelowna:
- The Falcons saw a three-game winning streak slide on Wednesday and came out on the wrong end of a series loss to the Pippins in Yakima before the two teams head north and part of that can be attributed to Kelowna allowing 27 runs in the last 16 innings. The Falcons sits last in the West Coast League with a 6.24 ERA with an opposing batting average of .282 with the next team behind them being Cowlitz and Bend with a .255 opposing BA.
- What has been a strong point for Kelowna this season has been their bats as they sit 2nd in the WCL with a .270 batting average as a team, sitting behind Corvallis (.284) for the league lead. When it comes to putting the ball in play, there is no better team than Kelowna as they lead the WCL in hits with 150 while also hold the league lead in doubles at 30 and sitting 2nd in the league in total bases at 205.
Yakima Valley:
- The Pippins improved to over .500 with their win on Thursday over the Falcons with their 8-7 record putting them in a tie with Victoria for 2nd in the North Division standings, chasing Bellingham who have won 8 games in a row. Yakima Valley has had their issues when going on the road this season, holding just a 1-5 record in two series’ away from Yakima this season, including being swept in their last road series in Portland.
- Hitting has been a strong point of the Pippins as well, collecting 29 hits over the last two games against the Falcons and sit in 3rd in the league in batting average at .267. Helping that has been a bevy of new players added to the Pippins roster, including outfielder Cole Pofek, who went 7-for-12 with a pair of home runs and a staggering 9 RBI’s in the series against Kelowna.
Returnees
Kelowna:
P Cal Hehnke (Junior, University of Nebraska-Omaha)
P James Brooks (Junior, Central Washington)
INF Taylor Wright (Freshman, University of Maryland)
INF Matt Voelzke (Sophomore, George Fox University)
OF Lucas Soper (Junior, University of British Columbia)
OF Davis Todosichuk (Junior, Okanagan College)
OF Trent Tinglestad (Sophomore, Everett Community College)
Yakima Valley:
P Matt Driver (Junior, Lewis-Clark St. College)
Who’s Hot
Kelowna:
INF Dan Pruitt (6’5”, 245 lbs/Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA)
The big right-hand batter from Seminole State College has continued his impressive play to sit in a tie for 3rd in the West Coast League in batting average at .378 as well as adding two home runs and six RBI’s. The freshman had collected a hit in each of his last eight games before fouling out in a pinch-hitting effort on Thursday but he put together a very god road trip, going 6-for-16 with a pair of homers and four RBI’s with almost every ball he is hitting shooting out like a laser.
INF Taylor Wright (6’3”, 195 lbs/Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN)
After getting off to a slow start offensively, the sophomore from the University of Maryland is starting to regain his form from a summer ago, which will be a problem for pitchers in the North Division. Wright had a 3-for-4 night in the series finale against the AppleSox in Wenatchee before blasting a three-run homer in the second game of the three-game set against the Pippins. Wright has collected hits in each of his last four games (two of which have been three-hit games) and also earning seven RBI’s in those games with at least one in each of the contests. Wright finished the six-game road trip hitting .533 in his last four games.
INF Steffen Torgersen (5’10”, 185 lbs/Shoreline, Washington, USA)
When it comes to collecting hits, the junior from Dartmouth is at the top of the list for the Falcons and continued to do that in a series against Yakima Valley that featured a lot of base knocks. Torgersen also has hits in each of his last four games including three of those being multi-hit affairs while picking up a pair of RBI’s to go along with that. Torgersen is hitting to the tune of a .388 batting average over his last four games.
Yakima Valley:
OF Cody Pofek (6’2”, 180 lbs/Riverside, California, USA)
As impressive as the stats for Kelowna hitters have been, no one comes close to what the sophomore from the University of California Riverside has been able to do over the three-game series against Kelowna. Pofek opened with a 2-for-4 game on Tuesday, scoring each of the Pippins two runs in the game before exploding for a 4-for-4 night along with a homer and six RBI’s on Wednesday before finishing the series with a 1-for-4 night on Thursday with that one hit being a three-run home run. He’ll be a tough out to get in the second of back-to-back three-game series’.
INF Jake Moberg (6’1”, 183 lbs/Murieta, California, USA)
Another new Pippin asserted himself into the lineup over the last three games against the Falcons as the freshman from UCLA in Moberg had a veru strong final two games of the series. After going 0-for-4 in the opener, Moberg compiled five hits on nine plate appearances in the final two games including a three-hit night on Thursday. The Murrieta, California native chipped in with a home run and two RBI’s along with a pair of stolen bases in his first series in a Pippins uniform.
P Davonte Butler (6’0”, 145 lbs/Hollister, California, USA)
Yet another Californian that has been very good for the Pippins is sophomore pitcher Davonte Butler. Playing his collegiate ball at Cal State Bakersfield, Butler has allowed just one run in two starts so far this season and has not played since June 10th against Bend, meaning this could be a series in which he is employed. Each of his first two starts have lasted five innings while giving up just three hits and not many walks or strikeouts as he keeps the ball in play and is another pitcher to watch for from a talented Pippins staff.
The Falcons and Pippins do battle throughout the weekend before Kelowna gets an off-day on Monday before welcoming the Port Angeles Lefties into town for a three-game series beginning on Tuesday and running through to Thursday, which is the Falcons annual Firefighters Game, which will feature post-game fireworks and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shae Weber throwing out the game’s first pitch. Tickets can be purchased on the Falcons website or at the door ahead of game time.
Photo courtesy of Greystoke Photography
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