Wenatchee wins in a nailbiter

On a hot and smoky day in Kamloops, the AppleSox just barely beat the NorthPaws by the skin of their teeth. The ‘Sox led 6-2 going into the ninth, and nearly coughed up the lead. However, they still managed to hold on and snuck out the 6-5 win in game one.

Kamloops struck first in the outing, scoring in the first and third innings. Down by a pair of runs in the fourth inning, the ‘Sox managed to load the bases. Then, Bryce Hampton came to the plate.

The ‘Sox shortstop absolutely pulverized a ball into deep left field and single-handedly gave Wenatchee the lead with a grand slam. The swing was Hampton’s first slam as a ‘Sox and his first home run with the team as well.

After that, the ‘Sox sprinkled on some insurance in the sixth and eighth innings just to be safe.

The real headline of the evening was a historic outing from Wenatchee’s starting arm Mitch Haythorn. The kid from Colorado struck out seven batters, giving him 100 career strikeouts on the dot. This puts him in a tight club of four AppleSox pitchers to ever record 100+ punch outs.

After him, it was Chihiro Sato who spun two innings of scoreless relief. Then, the ‘Sox handed it to Noah Sorensen to close out the ballgame. With a four-run lead and the NorthPaws down to their last three outs, it seems like an easy task, right? Think again.

Sorensen gave up two walks, two hits, and two hit-by-pitches in the final frame to load the bases and inevitably score three runs for the NorthPaws. However, he still managed to bear his teeth when he struck out the last batter to finally end the game.

It may not have been the prettiest win, but it’s still a win in the books. The ‘Sox are now set up for the series win tomorrow night in game two of the set. First pitch will be at 6:35 p.m at Norbrock Stadium in Kamloops.