Kelowna Falcons

Series Preview: Pippins

The Kelowna Falcons head out on the road for the second time this season as they make the trek south to face-off against the Yakima Valley Pippins for a three-game series beginning on Monday night at Yakima County Stadium.

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2019 Season Series:

Monday, June 17th @ Yakima County Stadium (6:35 PM)

Tuesday, June 18th @ Yakima County Stadium (6:35 PM)

Wednesday, June 19th @ Yakima County Stadium (6:35 PM)

Wednesday, July 24th @ Elks Stadium (6:35 PM)

Thursday, July 25th @ Elks Stadium (6:35 PM)

Friday, July 26th @ Elks Stadium (6:35 PM)

2019 Returnees:

P Wyatt Hummel (Okanagan College/West Kelowna, BC)

P Ian Turner (Mt. Hood Community College/Maple Valley, Washington)

INF Jake Fischer (Okanagan College/Edmonton, AB)

INF Ezra Samperi (Mt. Hood Community College/Gresham, Oregon)

INF Tylor Nixon (Yakima Valley Community College/Hamilton, Montana)

INF Dan Pruitt (Western Oklahoma State/Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

INF Matt Voelzke (George Fox University/Lake Oswego, Oregon)

OF Austen Butler (University of British Columbia/Port Coquitlam, BC)

Between The Foul Poles:

Kelowna:

  • Kelowna comes into the three-game set after picking one of a possible three wins against the Victoria HarbourCats in a three-game series over the weekend at Elks Stadium. After suffering defeats on Friday and Saturday, Kelowna pulled out a big 4-3 win on Sunday in extra innings courtesy of an RBI double off the bat of Tyler Grissom in the 11th inning.
  • Although the weekend wasn’t the best for Falcons pitchers, the group still boasts a strong batting average against, ranking 3rd best in the WCL with a .231 batting average against, coupled by a strong performance from starting pitcher Blake Tritch on Sunday night. Kelowna is also tied for 3rd in the league when it comes to hits allowed this season, surrendering just 74 through their 9 games so far this season for an average of 8 per game.
  • The Falcons will still look to improve at the plate when it comes to their offensive game but shows signs of that coming to life over the weekend, registering 10 runs over the three-game set. The Falcons still rank in the bottom of most offensive statistical categories but improved their team batting average to .186 over the weekend and sit 6th in the league in home runs hit with 5 this season.  

Yakima Valley:

  • The Pippins enter the mid-week series looking to get back into the form they had early on in the year as have dropped their last four games, including a three-game sweep at the hands of the Bellingham Bells in Northwest Washington over the weekend. After falling by 7-6 and 3-1 scores to begin the series, Yakima Valley lost by a 19-2 score on Sunday to fall for the fourth time in as many games as they look to try and get back on the rails against the Falcons.
  • Yakima Valley and Kelowna have a fair bit in common when it comes to offensive numbers as the two teams haven’t been overly explosive on the power side of the ball with the Pippins coming into the series ranked as the 8th placed team in terms of average at .240 this season. Yakima Valley also sits 8th in the league when it comes to runs scored as they have brought 48 runs into plate this season while homering just twice through 11 games played.   
  • On the mound, the Pippins have seen greater success, holding the 5th best earned run average in the West Coast League this season, staying at 3.88 in a hitter friendly league. Yakima Valley does not offer much in the way of free passes, surrendering just 42 walks this season which is tied for 3rd in the league while giving up 88 hits over the course of 11 games.

Players To Watch:
Kelowna:
OF Tyler Williams (6’3”/235 lbs/Oklahoma City University)

The newest member of the Falcons got into game action on Sunday night in his first game in a Falcons jersey and played a major impact in the series finale victory over Victoria. The Peoria, Arizona native had a big part defensively in the win, gunning out a potential go-ahead run in the 9th inning with a strong throw from right field while also going 1-for-4 in the game with a walk and a run scored. The big right-handed hitter tore the cover off the ball at Oklahoma City University where he hit .408 over the course of 174 at-bats to go along with 19 home runs and 79 RBI’s.

INF Tyler Grissom (5’10”/175 lbs/Chico State College)

The junior from Chico State has started to find his groove at the plate over the last few games, especially in a 4-for-4 performance on Friday night and of course, delivered the big hit to walk the game off on Sunday against the HarbourCats. The Canyon County, California native holds a .320 average coming into these three games against the Pippins, including tying Austen Butler for the team lead in doubles with 3 on the season. Grissom has also shown strong base running abilities, tying for the team lead in runs scored with 3 and leads the Falcons with a pair of stolen bases.  

P Connor Hurley (6’3”/190 lbs/Concordia University at St. Paul)

Another strong bullpen outing was served from the right hander from Sioux Falls, South Dakota as he has gone 9.1 innings pitching while allowing just a single run against out of the Falcons bullpen. Hurley pieced together 3.2 innings of one-run ball in the Falcons extra innings defeat of the HarbourCats on Sunday, allowing three hits while walking three and striking out three as well and is second behind Jonathan Clark on the team in K’s with his 11 thus far.  

Yakima Valley:
INF Tanner Parker (5’9”/170 lbs/Middle Tennessee State University)

Despite the Pippins lack of success in the win column as of late, Tanner Parker has had no struggles at the plate as he leads the team with a .382 average in collecting 13 hits in 34 at-bats this season. The Spokane, Washington native leads the team in doubles with 4 and is currently riding a six-game hit streak where he as multiple hits in his last five games of that stretch, batting .545 over that span with 4 RBI’s.

INF Owen Cobb (6’2”/180 lbs/Stanford University)

The freshman from Stanford University is one of two Pippins to have hit the ball out of the park over the course of Yakima’s 11 games and comes into the series tied for the team lead with 7 RBI’s so far. The Seattle, Washington product has earned a double and triple on the season as well while being tied for the team lead with six runs scored and sitting third while collecting 12 hits this season for the Pippins.  

P Mark Woinarowicz (6’2”/185 lbs/Cal State East Bay)

Scheduled as the starter to begin the series on Monday night, Woinarowicz has been one of the most consistent arms on the mound for the Pippins. The Yorba Linda, California native holds a 2-1 record in three games this season with none of those coming in a starting role. His 10.2 innings pitched enters the series as second on the team with a fourth best 1.68 ERA while also striking out nine batters and walking none in that time. Woinarowicz comes into Monday’s start after 5 innings of one-run ball against Victoria in his last outing while striking out a pair.

The Falcons and Pippins play the first of their two series’ on the year with the only one coming in Yakima this week. Game times are all set for 6:35 PM throughout the three-game set with the matchups being broadcasted live at mixlr.com/kelowna_falcons with the Voice of the Falcons, Trevor Miller. Kelowna returns home for a three-game series against the Cowlitz Black Bears beginning on Friday.

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