The Cowlitz Black Bears return home to the friendly confines of David Story Field following an extended six-game road trip to host the Yakima Valley Pippins this Friday-Sunday.
The Black Bears were swept by the Springfield Drifters last weekend and tied up their series against Portland Pickles with a 9-5 win on Wednesday night. Game three between the Black Bears and the Pickles is scheduled to start at 7:15 PST tonight in Portland.
The Pickles organization is nationally known for its social media antics and the boisterous atmosphere at Walker Stadium. The Pickles lived up to their reputation, hosting “Wrestling Night” and “Tattoo Tuesday” promotions for the series opener. “Wrestling Night” was a special occasion but “Tattoo Tuesday” offered real permanent tattoos to fans. The promotions brought over 4,000 fans out to take game one between the Black Bears and the Pickles. The Black Bears took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning when JJ Kennett (Dallas Baptist) drove Bronson Neave (Arizona Western) on a sacrifice fly to right field, then ensuring batter and Kennett’s DBU teammate Dylan Schlaegel’s RBI single to center field scored Cody Estes (South Mountain CC).
The Black Bears held onto the lead for less than an inning until Pickles’ catcher Nate Wood hammered a three-run home run to left-center field to put Portland ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the second.
Both bullpens did a phenomenal job of keeping their teams in the game until the very end. The Black Bears loaded up the bases with one out in the top of the seventh inning but came up empty with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
The Black Bears bounced back on Wednesday night with a 9-5 victory to end their four-game skid. Cowlitz jumped ahead 4-0 in the top of the third inning on three hits, including a three-run blast off the bat of Schlaegel for his first home run of the season.
The Pickles plated two in the bottom of the seventh when Alex Gouveia came through with a two-out two-run single to open up the scoring for Portland. The Black Bears immediately responded with four runs in the top of the eighth to put them in front for good. The Pickles scored one in the eighth and two in the ninth. Portland took advantage of free passes from Cowlitz late in the game. Nevertheless, Virot Siharath (Iowa Western) was inserted into the game in the bottom of the ninth and recorded all three outs in the ninth to secure the win.
The Pippins come into this series at 10-7 (as of Thursday). Yakima Valley started the season 5-2 but has lost seven of their last ten games. The Pippins finish their three-game series against the Wenatchee AppleSox tonight in Yakima Valley. The winner of tonight’s game between those two will claim that series.
The Black Bears won the 2023 season series 4-2 over the Pippins, but the Pippins took two of three games from the Black Bears at David Story Field. This weekend marks the first of two meetings between Cowlitz and Yakima Valley. They will meet again during the week of the Fourth of July in Yakima Valley (Tuesday, July 2-Thursday, July 4).
Join the Black Bears and Steelscape this Saturday, June 22 when they take on the Yakima Valley Pippins for a special first-responders-themed jersey auction! Each jersey will represent one of the local first responder agencies from around Cowlitz County. These game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off during the game and the winning bidder will be allowed to go on the field to take photos with the jersey and the player. 100% of the proceeds from the auction will go to Cowlitz County Habitat for Humanity. Be a part of this special event and get your tickets today!
The Pippins-Black Bears series will begin on Friday at 6:35 p.m. at David Story Field. Game 2 on Saturday is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., and the series finale will also begin at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday. For more information about upcoming games, stats, or tickets, follow us on social media: X (Twitter) (@CowlitzBBears), Facebook, and Instagram (@cowlitzblackbears). To watch, listen live, or view the 2024 promotional schedule, go to our website cowlitzblackbears.com.