AppleSox Look to Narrow Wild Card Race

The AppleSox are only three games out of the WCL Wild Card race, entering Saturday's game.

GAME NOTES
BASEBALL BLURBS

APPLESOX LOOK TO KEEP CUTTING WILD CARD DEFICIT
The Wenatchee AppleSox (21-23, 18-22), fourth place in the WCL East, picked up a game on the WCL Wild Card leaders last night with a win over the Yakima Valley Pippins (23-19, 21-19), as the Corvallis Knights also fell in a walkoff to the Klamath Falls Gems...the AppleSox are three games off the lead in the WCL Wild Card race and are looking to snapped a five game losing streak to the Pippins...the last seven meetings have been played at Paul Thomas Sr. Field...the AppleSox are playing their 16th franchise season (11th in the WCL) and are led by first-year skipper, AJ Proszek (21-23) (.477), who is in his 3rd season with the Sox, after managing the pitching staff in 2013 and 2014...Proszek is assisted by Miles Kizer and Cory LeBrun, both in their first seasons.
 

LAST TIME OUT
Mitch Yada (2-3) had a great first inning, but quickly ran into trouble against the AppleSox Wenatchee hit him for two runs in the second inning on a Kyle Vanderkin 2-RBI single to left field, and the Sox never looked back...Wenatchee piled on four more runs in the third on four hits and two Pippin errors. Four separate players earned RBI in the inning, including: Evan Douglas, Keston Hiura, Mitchell Holland and Nick Nyquist. Holland ended the night 3-for-5 with all three of his hits coming in his first three at bats...Tyler Burch (1-0), a former temporary arm for the AppleSox, and member of the Apple Valley Packers this summer, pitched tremendously in his first AppleSox start...in the sixth he did give up a run in an inning that started with a Jace VanDeBrake triple to right center field...VanDeBrake went 3-for-4 with a run scored....all told, Burch pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up just five hits and three runs, with five walks and two strikeouts. ..the AppleSox got the Pippins two top-half runs back in the bottom of the seventh, on a 2-RBI single for Hiura, up the middle with the bases loaded. He had two hits on the night and 3 RBI. ..Dayton Provost did put a charge into one in the ninth, knocking a solo home run to right field, but it was too little, too late, for the Pippins, who fell 11-4.

HOW YOU LOOK AT IT...
In the all-time series between the AppleSox and the Pippins, the AppleSox have a chance to do something that has only been done once...when either team’s winning streak is snapped, they do not win the next game, except for game three of the all-time set, which the AppleSox won to help spark a six-game winning streak (not that winning one game of an all-time set, constitutes a streak).

ON A TEAR; KESTON HIURA
Keston Hiura currently owns an eleven-game hitting streak for the AppleSox and owns the fifth-longest WCL streak this season...his ten straight games at home is third in the WCL...Brett Bautista, Kitsap, has an active streak of 21 games at home, and Justin Flores, Kelowna, 16...Hiura has reached base safely in 27 consecutive games, which is the second longest streak in the WCL this season (31, T. Davis, Bend, inactive), and the only active streak alive at 16 or more games...his on-base streak is the longest in the league on the road (18 games), ahead of Kyle Nixon for Walla Walla, who has a 16 game active streak.

WINNING CONVINCINGLY
The AppleSox are one of four teams to win at least ten games by more than three runs this season (10-3)...Bend (17-2), Kelowna, Victoria (10-6)...Yakima Valley (7-7)

LOCATION IS KEY
Wenatchee’s offense at home: .258/5HR/95RBI, 7 hitters at .274 or better...road: .238/8HR/81RBI/ 3 hitters at .274 or higher.

APPLESOX ALL-TIME
Through the first fifteen franchise seasons and 854 games, the AppleSox own a 534-320 (.626) record...the AppleSox are 394-220(.653) since the inception of the WCL in 2005...Wenatchee is 343-202 (.631) all-time in WCL league games (including playoffs), and 55-15 (.786) all-time in non-league contests since 2005...all-time, the AppleSox are 425-277 (.608) against league opponents (including playoffs) and 107-40 (.728) vs. non-league teams...Wenatchee owns a 321-164 (.661) all-time home record, and is 223-175 (.562) on the road...Wenatchee is 34-29 all-time in extra-inning games.