Four AppleSox Earn 2022 All-WCL Honors

Joichiro Oyama, Aiva Arquette, Matt Halbach and Grant Sherrod earned 2022 All-West Coast League honors on Thursday as announced by West Coast League commissioner Rob Neyer.

Oyama was honored as All-WCL First Team at second base a day after winning WCL co-MVP. Arquette earned All-WCL Second Team at shortstop while Halbach and Sherrod both got honorable mentions.

Oyama rewrote the AppleSox’ record books in 2023 by becoming the franchise’s new single-season record-holder for walks (42), stolen bases (42), runs (54) and plate appearances (276). The incoming junior at UC Irvine also broke WCL records for stolen bases, runs and plate appearances while also leading the league in triples (6), a figure that also tied an AppleSox single-season record.

Oyama played in all 54 regular-season games for the AppleSox and all three postseason games. He reached base at least once in 53-of-54 regular-season games with either a walk or a hit. The Okinawa, Japan, native recorded three different hitting streaks of at least nine games, including a 12-game hitting streak from June 29-July 15. Oyama also recorded 22 multi-hit games before going on to hit .467 (7-for-15) with six runs and multi-hit efforts in all three postseason games.

Arquette finished second behind Oyama on the AppleSox with a .335 batting average and was a dependable middle-of-the-order bat. The soon-to-be freshman at the University of Washington led the AppleSox and finished tied for fourth in the WCL with 39 RBI. Arquette recorded 19 multi-hit games, including a four-hit effort in his AppleSox debut on June 6 against the Port Angeles Lefties in the 2022 home opener. The Kailua, Hawaii, native wasn’t bothered by playing every day at shortstop and appeared in 36 consecutive games, league and non-league combined, from June 21-Aug. 1.

Halbach hit .329 with 17 multi-hit games and showcased his versatility by playing first base, third base, left field and right field. The incoming sophomore at UC San Diego regularly batted either second or third in the AppleSox batting order and never went back-to-back games without collecting a base hit until his final two games of the regular season. Halbach recorded a personal-best eight-game hitting streak July 3-15 and batted .371 during it. Two of his most exciting moments of the season came during that streak when he hit a go-ahead and eventual game-winning home run in the fifth inning against Kelowna on July 5 and then hit a game-tying RBI single in the bottom of the ninth against Corvallis on July 15. Halbach helped the AppleSox walk off the Knights on July 16 when he reached on an error in the ninth for Wenatchee’s only walkoff victory of 2022.

Sherrod finished 2022 on a tear, batting .352 over his final 18 games. In the midst of that impressive stretch the incoming junior at South Carolina Upstate recorded a 10-game hitting streak, one-of-three AppleSox double-digit hitting streaks in 2022. Sherrod was an on-base machine, drawing 25 walks and posting a .408 on-base percentage in 41 games. One of the most memorable moments of the summer came when Sherrod was pulled from first base with one out in the ninth in the AppleSox’ 10-1 victory over Walla Walla on Aug. 5 so that Sherrod could get a standing ovation from fans and a chance to say goodbye to his teammates before leaving for school the next day.

For a look at other players honored across the West Coast League please view the full release on westcoastleague.com.