The Yakima Valley Pippins are a collegiate wood bat baseball team based in Yakima, Washington . They are member of the West Coast League and began play in 2014 at the 2,800 seat Yakima County Stadium . They replaced the Yakima Bears of the Northwest League , who relocated to Hillsboro, Oregon , and were renamed the Hillsboro Hops . They were named for the pippin apple . On August 6, 2014, the Pippins were the first WCL expansion franchise to win a divisional pennant, beating the Cowlitz Black Bears 6-5 in the bottom of the 9th inning. After missing the playoffs in 2015, the Pippins returned to post season play, winning the 2nd Half South Division Title. The Pippins hold the West Coast League record for most wins in their first two seasons going 64-44 in 2014-2015.
35-770: The Pippins are the latest West Coast League (WCL) team. Pacific Baseball Ventures LLC owns both the Yakima Valley Pippins and the Walla Walla Sweets baseball team that also plays in the WCL. Because of the expansion team in Yakima, the WCL moved from a two-division format to a three-division format with an MLB playoff order. In May 2014, the Pippins reached an agreement to have 21 of their home games broadcast in Spanish. KDNA 91.9 FM will be
70-455: A WCL-record crowd of 5,133. Between June 5 and July 1, the team won a WCL-record 19 consecutive games. Attendance increased for the fourth straight year to an average of 2,239 per game, which ranked ninth in North America among summer league clubs. The HarbourCats finished 29-25 and reached the playoffs for the second consecutive season, winning the WCL's North Division Second Half Pennant on
105-794: A balanced schedule. The Moses Lake Pirates ceased operations following the 2010 season. 2011 In 2011 the league expanded to Klamath Falls , which in turn caused a 54-game unbalanced schedule. Also, in the Summer of 2011 the Wenatchee Applesox won the East Division Pennant, and the Walla Walla Sweets came in second and beat the Applesox in the Division Playoffs to go on to play the Corvallis Knights where they lost 2 games to 0. In
140-489: A best 2 out of 3. In 2009, the league expanded the schedule to 48 games, at the same time going to an unbalanced schedule. Since 2012, the West Coast League has scheduled 54 league games for each team (with games against non-league opponents not counted in standings). 2010 In 2010 the league added Longview / Kelso (Cowlitz), Washington for the 2010 season, along with Walla Walla, Washington , which in turn cause
175-571: A summer-collegiate baseball team located in Victoria, British Columbia . The HarbourCats play in the West Coast League (WCL), a collegiate summer baseball league . The team's home games are played at Victoria's Royal Athletic Park . The HarbourCats were founded in 2012 as an expansion team. On October 12, 2012, the team announced it would be called the HarbourCats after a public naming contest
210-700: A thrilling Game 3 and capture their fourth championship, and first of seven consecutive championships from 2016 to 2023. 2017 In 2017, the Kitsap BlueJackets went under new management, and were replaced by the Port Angeles Lefties . Corvallis went on to win its second consecutive and fifth overall title. 2018 In 2018, the Gresham GreyWolves were rebranded as the Portland Pickles under new management. The Ridgefield Raptors also joined
245-677: A total of 62,599 fans through the gates of Wilson's Group Stadium in 2018. The HarbourCats 2019 regular season, their seventh, began in June 2019. On July 7, 2019, the team qualified for the playoffs, their third playoff appearance in franchise history. The team beat the Wenatchee AppleSox 2–1 in games in the northern division series, and advanced to the WCL championship final series versus the Corvallis Knights, but lost that series 2–1 in games. The HarbourCats 2020 regular season, their eighth,
280-707: A wildcard. The HarbourCats faced the AppleSox in the Divisional Series for the second year in a row. The HarbourCats would win game one 4-2 in Victoria, but would lose games two and three in Wenatchee. Founder and original owner John McLean, who had changed GMs with Holly Jones leaving and Jim Swanson coming in, would lose the team in a civil claim, part of a larger lawsuit involving his other interests, in BC Supreme Court in
315-549: The 2014 year. Vince Fernandez had 10 home runs and 51 runs batted in , setting the record in both of those categories. In the first year of play at Yakima County Stadium, the Pippins had an attendance of 42,898 in 34 home games. On June 3rd, Carson Judd was announced as the league's pitcher of the week. Judd pitched six scoreless innings and threw eight strikeouts against the Drifters the previous Saturday night. On July 9th, Preston Allen and Spencer Shipman were selected to represent
350-586: The AppleSox beat the Knights and captured their fifth league title. 2013 In the 2013 season the league changed from an East/West division format to a North/South division format because of further league expansion, of the Victoria HarbourCats , and the Medford Rogues , which brought the number of teams to 11. Also, in 2013 records were set and matched. Walla Walla Sweets pitcher Sean-Luke Brija matched
385-599: The Canadian Victoria HarbourCats , set a single game and All-star game attendance record of 4,210 in viewing. Finally, history was made in Kitsap after the last out of the top of the ninth when Spenser Watkins threw a spectacular perfect game, the first in West Coast League history. 2014 In 2014 the Yakima Valley Pippins came on board, giving the WCL their twelfth team. Future major leaguer Eli Morgan
SECTION 10
#1732844085687420-590: The Fall 2014, taken over by the Bhootan Group, led by Matthew Stoudt. Bhootan would then sell the team to local ownership led by John Wilson, Jim Swanson, Ken Swanson and Rich Harder, who took care of local debts. In February 2019, team ownership announced plans to operate an additional WCL team in the Nanaimo market, playing out of Serauxmen Stadium, in 2021. Lights and other stadium upgrades are expected to be completed before
455-818: The Medford Rogues left the WCL and joined the Great West League. Also, the league announced that the Klamath Falls team would leave the league, with its place taken by a new team based in Gresham, Oregon. On December 4, 2015, the Gresham Baseball Club announced that the team would be named the Gresham GreyWolves. In 2016, the Victoria HarbourCats set a single-season record for wins with 40, breaking
490-592: The North with a 19-game winning streak, and tied Bellingham for the second-half lead, with the Bells holding the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series. In the South, the first half was won by the Corvallis Knights, while the second half was won by the Yakima Valley Pippins. Both Corvallis and Bellingham swept their first-round playoff series, setting up a rematch of 2014's WCL Championship Series. The 2016 edition saw Corvallis win
525-977: The Pickles defeated the Wenatchee AppleSox, 6-5, in the WCL Championship Game with a walkoff run in the bottom of the 9th inning. This marked the first WCL title for the Portland Pickles in team history, and the first team other than Corvallis to win it all since the Bend Elks in 2015. The Pickles were the 6th unique team to take home the trophy. Mitchell Gunsolus, Wenatchee AppleSox, 2012 Grant Melker, Corvallis Knights, 2014 Michael Lucarelli, Corvallis Knights, 2014 Mitch Skaggs, Yakima Valley Pippins, 2015 Evan Johnson, Wenatchee AppleSox, 2017 Chandler Anderson, Corvallis Knights, 2018 Gio Diaz, Portland Pickles, 2018 Joichiro Oyama, Wenatchee AppleSox, 2022 Victoria HarbourCats The Victoria HarbourCats are
560-579: The Pippins in the 2024 All Star Game in Bellingham. The Pippins failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second straight season. West Coast League The West Coast League ( WCL ) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 2005, comprising teams from Washington , Oregon , British Columbia and Alberta . The WCL was previously named the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League ( WCCBL ), but in 2008 it
595-514: The Victoria HarbourCats to win its seventh consecutive and tenth overall title. 2024 On January 19, 2024, the West Coast League announced it had awarded a expansion franchise to Salem, Oregon. The new Salem team will start play in 2025 as the league's 17th team. The Portland Pickles defeated the Corvallis Knights, 4-1, on August 14, 2024 in the WCL South Division Championship, ending the Knights' 7-year title run. On August 16,
630-478: The WCL Championship series. Bellingham won both games 2 and 3 of the series, making them the 4th team to ever win the WCL Championship. 2015 In 2015, the West Coast League saw its fifth league champion, the Bend Elks. Kelowna, Bellingham, Bend, and Corvallis advanced to the playoffs, in which Bend swept both Corvallis and Kelowna to capture their first WCL championship. 2016 In the 2015–2016 off-season,
665-450: The West Coast League announced a partnership with Major League Baseball as a part of the growing list of larger collegiate leagues partnering with MLB to further grow collegiate summer wood bat baseball. The agreement was reached to jointly pursue initiatives of mutual interest, including player and coach development, technology innovation related to scouting and fan experience, and community engagement. 2023 In 2023, Corvallis defeated
700-560: The West Coast League, bringing the total number of teams to 13. Corvallis went on to win its third consecutive and sixth overall title. 2019 In 2019, Corvallis won its fourth consecutive and seventh overall title. 2020 The West Coast League canceled its 2020 summer collegiate season due to the COVID-19 pandemic . 2021 In 2021, the Springfield Drifters , Nanaimo NightOwls , and Edmonton Riverhawks announced plans to join
735-595: The West Coast League, bringing the total number of teams to 16. The WCL split back into two divisions of eight teams apiece for the North and South regions. However, five Canadian teams in the West Coast League did not play the 2021 season due to pandemic-related border and gathering limitations. They planned to resume play in 2022, which would be the inaugural season for Springfield, Nanaimo, and Edmonton. Corvallis went on to win its fifth consecutive and eighth overall title. 2022 In 2022, Corvallis won its sixth consecutive and ninth overall title. On September 19, 2022,
SECTION 20
#1732844085687770-861: The West Division the Corvallis Knights won the Pennant and the Bend Elks were 8 games behind them but lost 2–0 in the Divisional games. 2012 In 2012, the Wenatchee AppleSox won the East Division after topping the Bellingham Bells in the first round of the playoffs. At the same time, in the West Division the Corvallis Knights defeated the Cowlitz Black Bears . In the league's championship series,
805-416: The gates in 30 home games, averaging about 1,576 fans a night. This put Victoria first in WCL attendance in the 2014 season. The HarbourCats went 29–24 in their 3rd season of play in the WCL. Victoria led the league with a team total of 36 home runs on the season. Victoria drew 49,647 fans through the gates in 26 home games, averaging 1,910 fans a night, a mark which led the West Coast League in attendance for
840-467: The last 2 days of league play with a race between Bend and Wenatchee for the first WCL Wild-card spot. Bend edged Wenatchee by just 1 game, causing Wenatchee to miss the playoffs for the first time. Yakima, Bellingham, and Corvallis won their divisions and set the field for the first three-division WCL playoff. The first round playoff pairings were Bellingham vs. Yakima and Corvallis vs. Bend. Both Corvallis and Bellingham won their first 2 games and advanced to
875-475: The league record in saves, with 13 outstanding saves in the 2013 season. It was the first year an expansion team, in their first year, made the playoffs. The Medford Rogues made the playoffs by a tie, and winning their last 3 regular season games but, they lost their Cinderella Story season to the Corvallis Knights , beating them 2 games to nothing in the South Division playoffs. Also, the other expansion team,
910-634: The new team can play. On April 30, 2017, Nick Pivetta became the first former HarbourCats player to reach the major leagues when the right-hander started for the Philadelphia Phillies against the Washington Nationals. Following 2017, 40 HarbourCats players have been selected in the MLB draft. As of 2017, 14 were playing in an MLB team's organization. In the early part of the 2021 season, two former HarbourCats made their debuts - Alex De Goti for
945-459: The previous record of 39 (2011 Wenatchee AppleSox). Victoria also broke all three attendance records by having the highest attendance in a single game, season total, and game average. They had 60,466 total fans through the gates, averaging 2,239 a night, with a record 5,133 in one game on June 30 against the Kelowna Falcons. In the new split-season playoffs format, Victoria won the first half in
980-523: The season's final day. They would go on to win the franchise's first-ever playoff game and series over the Kelowna Falcons , qualifying for their first-ever WCL Championship Series, where they would fall in three games to the Corvallis Knights . The HarbourCats finished 27-27 and failed to reach the playoffs. With an attendance of 3,076 at their final home game, the HarbourCats beat their own WCL attendance regular-season attendance of 60,466, by welcoming
1015-404: The second straight season. The HarbourCats set a WCL record for wins in a single season, finishing with a 40-14 regular season mark. They won the WCL's North Division First Half Pennant with a 23–4 record, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, and the first time for a Victoria-based baseball team since 1954. The pennant was clinched in Victoria on June 30 in front of
1050-514: The station broadcasting the 21 games out of Yakima. After Pacific Baseball Ventures was awarded the Yakima expansion team in the late part of the 2013 year, PBV began restoring the field. In the inaugural season for the Pippins. The Pippins were the second team to make the playoffs in the first season of play. With a 35-19 record and the WCL East Division pennant, the Pippins housed the WCL MVP for
1085-416: The teams played 42 games. For the 2007 season, this was the first year that the WCL used divisions. They separated the league into two divisions, East and West, based on geographical location. The playoffs worked in an odd way. The top two teams in the standings at the end of the season would playoff a best 2 out of 3 in both divisions. Then, the winners of the sets would playoff in the championship series, also
Yakima Valley Pippins - Misplaced Pages Continue
1120-542: Was 8-0 for them. Also, in the 2014 year, because of the expansion of Yakima , the WCL restructured their league format for the 4th time in its history, moving to a 3-division format, with East, West, and South Divisions. The playoff format adopted was similar to the MLB format, with only one wild card instead of two. The teams are shown in their respective geographical division in the Team Table below. The play-off race came down to
1155-421: Was held that received more than 600 submissions. The Victoria HarbourCats entered the league with play in the 2013 season and went 22–32, missing the playoffs. A total of 38,793 fans attended home games. The Victoria HarbourCats went 25–29 in their 2nd season of play in the WCL. Victoria set the record for the most at-bats by a whole team having 1937 at bats in just one season. Victoria drew 45,571 fans through
1190-444: Was renamed as the West Coast League. The league is designed to develop college talent, and only current college-eligible players are allowed to participate. The West Coast League has produced dozens of professional players, including a number of major leaguers. League teams are operated similarly to professional minor-league teams. The WCL's season typically runs from early June through the middle of August. 2005–2009 In 2005
1225-400: Was scheduled to begin at home on June 5, 2020. The worldwide COVID-19 crisis forced the cancellation of the 2020 WCL season. On July 17th, Tyler Davis (Fresno State) was named player of the week. On July 9th, Carson Cormier and Tate Shimao were selected to represent the HarbourCats in the 2024 All Star Game in Bellingham. The HarbourCats made the playoffs for the fourth straight season as
#686313