This Week in AppleSox Baseball: All Stars, Heart Breaks, and Four Straight Series

The All-Star break may have eaten up much of the week, but the ‘Sox still put on a show. All-Star pitching, a heartbreaking loss, and 12 series wins made up week eight, and Wenatchee soaked up every second of it.

Joe Thornton, Clint Beck, Landon White, Kainoa Santiago, and Raphael Dunne started the week for the ‘Sox, traveling up to Victoria to represent Wenatchee in the All-Star game. White, Santiago, and Dunne may have gone hitless in the event, but Thornton and Beck made up for it on the mound.

The pair of pitchers each got to toss an inning late in the game, and both hung scoreless frames. Thornton sat down the side in order, picking up two strikeouts in his wake. Beck allowed a hit, but still managed to slam the door when it mattered.

That was all she wrote for the ‘Sox in the All-Star game. But the five ‘Sox got to stay put in Victoria when the rest of the team joined them. Immediately out of the break, Wenatchee took on the HarbourCats for three games of North Division play.

Fresh out of the gate, the ‘Sox got their hearts broken. The HarbourCats took them down 9-7 in the opening bout, despite hot performances from Dunne, White, Ryder Young, and Zach Doyle, who went 4-for-4.

The ‘Sox may have struck first in the game, but Victoria did not let it last. After taking the lead in the third, the Cats continued to sprinkle on insurance throughout. Wenatchee kept it interesting, scoring three runs in the ninth to potentially stage a comeback. However, they came up short, leaving the tying run on base and dropping the first game of the series.

The ‘Sox took the loss personally, evident by their 7-2 win in game two. It was a team affair, with almost the entire lineup chipping in. Dunne impressed as always, smoking a two-run triple in the ninth inning to pound the nail into the coffin.

Pitching returned to their winning ways, with Beck tossing two scoreless frames of relief and getting the win. The All-Star picked up his third win of the season and dropped his ERA to 1.74.

With the series on the line, the ‘Sox did not blink. The highlight of the night was Ky McGary crushing a two-run home run to left field in the fifth inning, extending the ‘Sox’s lead and giving them much-needed momentum in the series decider.

While the Cats did manage to score a run in the eighth, it was too little too late. Noah Sorensen got the final two innings in relief, and did just enough to carry Wenatchee across the finish line.

Vincent DeMarco got the start in that final game, and put up the best outing in the entire league. The incoming freshman spun seven scoreless innings with only two hits. He only struck out two batters, but that didn’t really matter, with his defense locking down the diamond behind him.

DeMarco’s scoreless dominance won him Pitcher of the Week honors for the WCL, and gave him his first win of the summer. On top of that, the youngster’s ERA has now dipped to 1.35. In just his second start of the season, DeMarco is proving why he will be pitching with Saint Mary’s next spring.  

The lights-out performance from DeMarco was a perfect cherry on top to a stellar week for the ‘Sox. With only three weeks left in the regular season, Wenatchee is eyeing who their first-round opponent will be in playoffs.

The runway is slowly but surely running out for the summer, and the ‘Sox don’t show any signs of slowing down. They get back to the action this week, playing the Port Angeles Lefties for three games at home before welcoming the Bellingham Bells for three more games at home this weekend.

The first game of the Lefties series kicks off at 6:35 p.m on July 20 at Paul Thomas Senior Stadium.