AppleSox Go For Back-To-Back Wins Over Elks

GAME NOTES

The Wenatchee AppleSox, winners of five-of-their-last-seven, all home games, go for their third-straight series win against the Bend Elks at 6:35 PM. Wenatchee is 3-1 in WCL series openers after rallying to beat Bend, 5-4, last night for their closest win in 2021. The Sox got four runs off five hits in the first three innings before chilling offensively. The Elks tied it with a run in the sixth but the AppleSox scored the game-winning run in the eighth on Jackson Van De Brake's bases-loaded walk.

Wenatchee welcomed some new faces to the fold last night. Catcher John Newman Jr. started the game, went 1-for-3 with a run. Collin Villegas finished the night behind the plate as defensive replacement in the ninth and prevented the tying run from scoring by holding onto the ball after being knocked over on a suicide squeeze attempt. Michael O'Hara collected three hits and drove in a pair, Zach Toglia reached base safely three times and Justin Simpson pinch-ran for Newman in the eighth, stole second and scored the go-ahead run.

O'Hara's 3-hit, 2-RBI game was the 1st one this season for Wenatchee. It was just the 3rd time this season a Sox hitter got 3 hits or more in a single game. Last night the squad struck out a season-low 6 times while also earning more walks (7) than whiffs for the 1st time in 2021.

After yesterday's win, the AppleSox hitting still ranks ninth in the 10-team WCL with a .203 batting average .315 OB% and a .282 SLG%. Pitching-wise, Sox arms are third in the league with just 35 walks allowed, fourth in wild pitches (8), Tied for fourth with a 1.41 WHIP and have allowed four homers.

Tonight’s starting pitcher is right-hander Jacob Hughes. He has only allowed one run in seven innings of work. Hughes made his first start of the season on June 10 and of the four hits he allowed, two came in the fourth inning, the only inning that he has allowed a run in this season. The righty is third on the team in strikeouts and is three away from leading the team in punchouts.

Hughes excelled in four years at Rocky Mountain High School in Idaho. He recorded a 1.58 ERA and struck out 84 in 57.2 innings over 11 games while also hitting .397 as a senior this Spring. He will attend Oregon this fall after pitching for the AppleSox.

Bend counters with Oregon State righty AJ Lattery. He is making his summer debut tonight after recording a 1.42 ERA in five games for the Beavers this Spring.

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This evening’s ballgame is College Night and fans who wear their favorite university’s college apparel will receive 15-percent off purchases at the AppleSox souvenir stand.

Fans can purchase tickets for tonight’s game and any other June AppleSox home game by visiting applesox.com/tickets. Ticket information on July home games will be released in the following week.

If you cannot attend tonight’s game, then you can still listen live to the action on Sunny FM. Listeners can tune in at kcsyfm.com on their desktop computer or by tuning in at any of the following stations below.

• Wenatchee: 93.9 FM

• East Wenatchee/Rock Island: 98.1 FM

• Lake Chelan Valley: 95.3 FM

• Brewster/Pateros: 101.3 FM

• Okanogan Valley: 101.9 FM

• Omak/Tonasket/Oroville: 97.7 FM

• Methow Valley: 106.3 FM

Pregame coverage begins at 6:10 p.m. with the Horan Estates Winery Pregame Show and the broadcast wraps up each night with the Denny’s Late Night Postgame Show. Tonight’s game will also have a live video with the radio feed. It can be seen on playsight.com

AppleSox Win Back-And-Forth Series-Opener vs Bend

The Wenatchee AppleSox scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the Bend Elks, 5-4, on Friday night at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. 

Jackson Van De Brake drew a two-out bases-loaded walk to drive in the game-winning run and give the AppleSox the series-opening victory.

Michael O’Hara and Zach Toglia also starred in their AppleSox debuts. O’Hara went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI and Toglia was 2-for-3 with a walk.

Tyler Chipman (1-0) picked up his first win of the season after throwing a scoreless eighth inning and Chase Grillo got his first save with a clean ninth. Bend loaded up the bases in the top of the ninth but Grillo got a strikeout to end the evening.

The Elks collected two extra-base hits in the first inning to get on the board first but the AppleSox would score three runs over the next two innings. An error and a double in the bottom of the first put runners at second and third and Luc Stuka evened the game up with a ground out. O’Hara and Dakota Duffalo picked up RBI singles the next inning to give the Sox a brief lead.

The back-and-forth ballgame continued in the top of the third when Bend tied it up on a two-out 2-RBI double. That would not faze the AppleSox as O’Hara recorded his second RBI single of the game in as many innings to make it 4-3.

That remained the score until Bend cashed in with a two-out RBI single in the sixth. All four of their runs on Friday night came with two outs.

The ninth inning was a bit tense after the AppleSox took the lead. With runs at first and third, Grillo fielded a push bunt to the right side and flipped home to catcher Collin Villegas, making his AppleSox debut as a defensive replacement that inning. Villegas was knocked over by Elks runner Chase Engelhard but hung onto the ball to record the out. The two exchanged words and the benches cleared as Engelhard was ejected.

The AppleSox go for their third consecutive series victory on Saturday night against the Elks. It’s College Night at the ballpark as fans are encouraged to wear apparel from their favorite school. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m. and tickets can be purchased at applesox.com/tickets.

FULL BOXSCORE

Listen to postgame interviews with Assistant Coach Wyatt McKnight as well as Grillo and Villegas below.

AppleSox Host Struggling Elks This Weekend

GAME NOTES

The Wenatchee AppleSox, winners of four-of-their-last-six, return to action Friday night after four days off when they host the Bend Elks for three games at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium.

Wenatchee won two-of-three against the Walla Walla Sweets last week before taking two more from Bellingham last weekend. The AppleSox are buoyed by tremendous pitching, which has limited opponents to two-or-fewer runs in four-of-nine games so far. Their 3.62 ERA is fifth-best in the WCL, as of June 14. They also have compiled a 1.36 WHIP that is third-best in the league.

The AppleSox are 36-42 in WCL games against the Elks but are 19-18 vs Bend in home games. Non-league games included, the AppleSox have won 43 of 93 games against the Elks. The Elks enter play Tuesday night with a league-worst 6.49 ERA. They have only played six WCL games but are a league-worst 1-8 after losing four straight, including being swept by the Ridgefield Raptors this week.

Despite their offensive struggles, the AppleSox have gotten a great start to the season from Adam Grob. He is tied for sixth in the WCL in batting average and leads the AppleSox with a .367 average. He also leads the AppleSox in hits (11), RBI (8) SLG% (.633) and OPS (1.074).

Wenatchee's roster has increased since the AppleSox last took the field. Skylar Hales, John Newman Jr., Michael O'Hara, Justin Simpson, Zach Toglia, Collin Villegas and Jake Wyeth have all joined the AppleSox this week. Ben Leid's 10-Day Contract expired last weekend and Reid Rasmussen is having his shoulder reevaluated after exiting his start on July 12. His status moving forward is TBD while he is away from the team. Gauge Lockhart previously left the team after injuring his throwing arm after his June 5 start.

Tonight’s AppleSox is Gavin Gorrell. He made his second start of the season on June 9 against the Walla Walla Sweets and breezed through the first three innings before running into trouble in the fourth, when he gave up three runs before allowing four more an inning later. The incoming redshirt junior at Utah started the first game of the AppleSox’ West Coast League season on Friday against Portland. He allowed six runs (four earned) against the Pickles, although the AppleSox defense committed three errors in a four-run Portland fourth inning.

Gorrell’s collegiate career has taken lots of twists and turns as Utah will be his third different college. He began as freshman at Northern Colorado in 2018 where he recorded a 9.15 ERA and struck out 21 hitters in 19.2 innings over eight games. Gorrell transferred to Boise State and sat out the 2019 season, but his tenure with the Broncos was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic and cancellation of the Boise State baseball program last year. He recorded a 6.55 ERA and struck out eight hitters in 11 innings over three games.

The brunt of Gorrell’s collegiate pitching has come in the summer. In 2019, he recorded a 4.23 ERA and struck out 32 in 38.1 innings over nine games for the AppleSox. Gorrell started the deciding Game 3 of the West Coast League North Division Series against the Victoria HarbourCats. He allowed five runs (four earned) in a gutsy 5.1 innings for a depleted AppleSox pitching staff. Gorrell struck out nine HarbourCats, a personal season-best but he picked up a no-decision in the loss.

Bend counters with George Eisenhardt. He started and tossed four innings for Bend in their only win this season, a 2-1 triumph over the Cowlitz Black Bears on June 10. The incoming freshman right-hander at Xavier allowed one run on three hits, walked one and struck out three to earn a no-decision.

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Father's Day Weekend promises to be a special one at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. Tonight, the Apple Blossom Royalty will meet and greet with fans before the 6:35 first pitch.

Fans can purchase tickets for tonight’s game and any other June AppleSox home game by visiting applesox.com/tickets. Ticket information on July home games will be released in the following week.

If you cannot attend tonight’s game, then you can still listen live to the action on Sunny FM. Listeners can tune in at kcsyfm.com on their desktop computer or by tuning in at any of the following stations below.

• Wenatchee: 93.9 FM

• East Wenatchee/Rock Island: 98.1 FM

• Lake Chelan Valley: 95.3 FM

• Brewster/Pateros: 101.3 FM

• Okanogan Valley: 101.9 FM

• Omak/Tonasket/Oroville: 97.7 FM

• Methow Valley: 106.3 FM

Pregame coverage begins at 6:10 p.m. with the Horan Estates Winery Pregame Show and the broadcast wraps up each night with the Denny’s Late Night Postgame Show. Tonight’s game will also have a live video with the radio feed. It can be seen on playsight.com and this evening's game will also be televised live on the NCWLIFE Channel.

AppleSox Drop Series Finale to Bells

The AppleSox lost the final game of their three-game series against the Bellingham Bells, 12-4, in a rain-shortened game on Sunday night at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium.

Rain and lightning just before 8 p.m. caused a delay in the middle of the seventh inning that led to a cancellation of the remainder of the game shortly after.

Hunter Salinas got off to a strong start for the AppleSox by retiring six of the first seven hitters that he faced in two innings. However, he gave up two doubles in the third and was removed three hitters and one out into the inning. The Bells would plate six more runs thanks to three errors before the inning ended and effectively put the game out of reach.

The AppleSox scored in the bottom of the third but allowed four more runs in the fourth and committed another error. Wenatchee committed a combined two errors over the previous three games, which, by no coincidence, were all wins.

The AppleSox have the next four days off before they return to action this Friday on Father’s Day Weekend with three home games against the Bend Elks. Tickets are available for that series and all remaining June home games at AppleSox.com/tickets.

AppleSox Look to Sweep Bells Tonight

GAME NOTES

The Wenatchee AppleSox look to get their first sweep of 2021 when they host the Bellingham Bells tonight at 5:35 at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. The AppleSox took the first two games against the Bells to come into tonight's game with a season-best three-game winning streak.

The Sox got a bounce-back pitching performance from lefty Reid Rasmussen. He became the third sox starter to toss five innings. Rasmussen gave up one run one three hits with the lone run scoring on a third inning blast by Daniel Gernon. Reliever Jeffrey Heinrich pitched out of a one-out bases-loaded jam by getting back-to-back strikeouts to end his AppleSox’ debut. The AppleSox got three more shutout innings from Jasper Nelson, Alex Brady and Rance Pittman to close out the 4-1 victory. Pittman earned his first save with a scoreless ninth.

At the plate, the Sox didn't score in the first three innings but struck with two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. An RBI groundout and a wild pitch in the fourth tied the game and then gave the AppleSox the lead for good. Tino Bethancourt skied a two-run home run over the left-field wall one inning later for his second long ball of the summer.

Last night's win marked Wenatchee's fifth consecutive against Bellingham at home. It also marked the Bells' fourth straight loss, after losing the final two games of their home series against Yakima Valley prior to the start of this series. The Bells' three-run loss gave them a 1-4 record when they fail to score over four runs.

The AppleSox swept four teams in 2019, including Bellingham at home from June 12-14. Three of the AppleSox’ four sweeps last season came at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium, where the AppleSox collected their 400th win at last night.

Tonight’s starting pitcher is Hunter Salinas, an incoming sophomore at Colorado State Pueblo. He is coming off tossing five scoreless inning this past Tuesday to lead the AppleSox to a 5-0 win over the Walla Walla Sweets to become the first AppleSox starter to toss five innings in a start (two others have done so since then). He struck out five, allowed three hits and walked one batter.

Salinas tossed two scoreless innings of relief against the Portland Pickles on June 4 in his first appearance this season. He did appear in a non-league game against the Northwest Star Academy on June 3 in his first appearance in an AppleSox uniform. Salinas tossed two scoreless frames, including working out of a one-out bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning.

Bellingham will counter with Kyle Dunning, a sophomore at Tacoma Community College. He tossed 3.1 scoreless innings of relief and struck out three while allowing just two hits on June 5 against the Port Angeles Lefties in his season-debut.

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Fans can purchase tickets for tonight’s game and any other June AppleSox home game by visiting applesox.com/tickets.

If you cannot attend tonight’s game, then you can still listen live to the action on Sunny FM. Listeners can tune in at kcsyfm.com on their desktop computer or by tuning in at any of the following stations below.

• Wenatchee: 93.9 FM

• East Wenatchee/Rock Island: 98.1 FM

• Lake Chelan Valley: 95.3 FM

• Brewster/Pateros: 101.3 FM

• Okanogan Valley: 101.9 FM

• Omak/Tonasket/Oroville: 97.7 FM

• Methow Valley: 106.3 FM

Pregame coverage begins at 6:10 p.m. with the Horan Estates Winery Pregame Show and the broadcast wraps up each night with the Denny’s Late Night Postgame Show. Tonight’s game will also have a live video with the radio feed. It can be seen on playsight.com

AppleSox Top Bells to Win 400th at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium

AppleSox pitchers limited their opponent to two-runs-or-less for the fourth time this summer and Wenatchee picked up its 400th win all-time at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium with a 4-1 victory over the Bells on Saturday night.

Reid Rasmussen (1-1) only allowed one run on a third-inning solo shot by Daniel Gernon and stymied the Bells over five solid innings to become the third AppleSox starting pitcher to toss five innings in a start. He exited with a shoulder injury during the first at-bat of the sixth inning, but both he and Head Coach Ian Sanderson said he would avoid an inactive stint.

Tino Bethancourt launched his second home run in the last three days and has now driven in five runs while also scoring five times in the last three games.

Four AppleSox pitchers combined to toss four shutout innings of relief. Jeffrey Heinrich had the most dramatic inning as he entered an inning after Bethancourt’s two-run shot for the injured Rasmussen in a 3-2 count against Gernon, who reached on an error. With one out, Heinrich got a pop out and a strikeout, but the ball got away and the second out was recorded. A walk followed to load the bases, but Heinrich buckled down and struck out the next two hitters to strand the bases loaded in his AppleSox debut.

Alex Brady also made his team debut and struck out two in a scoreless eighth after allowing a leadoff single. Rance Pittman also allowed a leadoff base-hit in the ninth, but picked up his first save of the 2021 season with a scoreless ninth.

Wenatchee trailed 1-0 entering the bottom of the fourth and would end the inning stranding the bases-loaded, but cashed in before leaving three men on base. Bethancourt was hit by a pitch with one out and and advanced to third after Garrett Cutting followed with a single. Rece Stapp grounded out to score Bethancourt and advance Cutting to third and Cutting scored on a wild pitch to score the eventual game-winning run.

The AppleSox go for the sweep on Sunday night against the Bells. Wenatchee has not announced a starter, but Bellingham will send Kyle Dunning (0-0, 0.00 ERA) to the rubber for the 5:35 p.m. game.

Listen to postgame interviews with Sanderson and Rasmussen below.

AppleSox Host Bells, Look to Take Series

GAME NOTES

The AppleSox look to take their second consecutive series when they host the Bellingham Bells tonight at 6:35 at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. The AppleSox took two-of-three from the Walla Walla Sweets earlier this week and their bats came alive last night to the tune of a 13-8 victory over Bellingham.

Adam Grob led the way again offensively, collecting four hits and driving in four runs for the Sox' first four hit game of 2021. He is now fourth in the WCL with a .391 batting average through the first seven games of the summer.

The AppleSox scored scored five runs in the first inning to match their previous high for an entire game. They would also score five in the eighth inning and only had two innings in which they did not collect one hit amid a 2021 single-game high of 13 hits. Their team batting average jumped from a .159 mark prior to last night's game to a .188 mark and out of the cellar for the league's worst mark. The AppleSox do have the second-worst number of strikeouts in the WCL with 76.

On the mound, the Sox gave up their highest number of runs in a win, but never toed the rubber with the AppleSox losing besides the top of the first inning when there was no score. Martin Haswell earned the win after allowing one run and striking out five in three innings.

Last night's win marked Wenatchee's fourth consecutive against Bellingham at home. It also marked the Bells' third straight loss overall, after losing the final two games of their home series against Yakima Valley. The Bells' eight runs also marked their season-best, surpassing the seven runs that they scored in a 7-3 win over Port Angeles on June 4 and in a 10-7 loss to Port Angeles two nights later.

Tonight’s starting pitcher is Reid Rasmussen, an incoming sophomore at Central Washington. He tossed three innings in his first start of the season last Sunday against Portland on June 6. He didn't allow any runs in the first inning, but surrendered four in the second and two in the third in an 11-1 AppleSox loss.

Rasmussen had great first season at Central Washington as he earned First Team All-GNAC honors this Spring. He recorded a 4.47 ERA and struck out 25 in 32.2 innings across eight games (all starts) as a COVID freshman. He appeared in three games for Yakima Valley College for the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, recording a 7.50 ERA and striking out three over six innings across three games.

In between his first two years of college Rasmussen tossed a seven-inning no hitter while pitching for the Yakima Valley Pepsi Pak American Legion Senior Baseball team. He committed to Central Washington five days later.

Rasmussen led Selah High School to a district championship in 2018 but missed his senior season due to Tommy John Surgery.

He’ll go up against Zack Simon, who tossed four scoreless innings against Port Angeles on June 6 in his season debut. He did not allow any hits, but walked four. The sophomore at Corban Uniersity recorded 2.63 ERA and struck out 63 in 68.1 innings over 11 games (all starts) this Spring. He was an NAIA Honorable-Mention All-American and led the Warriors in ERA, innings and strikeouts.

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Fans can purchase tickets for tonight’s game and any other June AppleSox home game by visiting applesox.com/tickets.

If you cannot attend tonight’s game, then you can still listen live to the action on Sunny FM. Listeners can tune in at kcsyfm.com on their desktop computer or by tuning in at any of the following stations below.

• Wenatchee: 93.9 FM

• East Wenatchee/Rock Island: 98.1 FM

• Lake Chelan Valley: 95.3 FM

• Brewster/Pateros: 101.3 FM

• Okanogan Valley: 101.9 FM

• Omak/Tonasket/Oroville: 97.7 FM

• Methow Valley: 106.3 FM

Pregame coverage begins at 6:10 p.m. with the Horan Estates Winery Pregame Show and the broadcast wraps up each night with the Denny’s Late Night Postgame Show. Tonight’s game will also have a live video with the radio feed. It can be seen on playsight.com

AppleSox Bust Out Offensively to Beat Bells

The Wenatchee AppleSox matched their previous season-high for runs scored in the first inning en route to a season-best 13 runs scored in a 13-8 win over the Bellingham Bells on Friday night at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium.

Every AppleSox hitter reached base at least once and they scored five runs in the first and then five more in the eighth in a game that they never trailed.

Adam Grob went 4-for-5 with four singles and 3 RBI, Luc Stuka also drove in three runs and Enzo Apodaca collected two hits and made an impressive catch in center field in the eighth.

Martin Haswell (1-0) earned the win after only allowing one run and striking out five in three innings of relief.

The AppleSox’ five-run top of the first began with each of their first six hitters reaching base and knocking out Bellingham starter Oliver Laufman. Grob drove in his first run of the night, Marc Steward drew a bases-loaded walk and Stuka hit a two-run single before Steward scored the final run due to an error.

Though the Bells never led Wenatchee, they made the game interesting throughout. They scored three runs in the top of the second to only trail by two and then added two more in the sixth to make it a one-run game after the AppleSox scratched a run across in the fourth on the second RBI single of the night for Grob.

The sixth inning until the end was back-and-forth and hectic. The AppleSox scored two in the bottom of the sixth when Garrett Cutting led off with a single and scored three batters later on an error and then Apodaca, who followed up Cutting with a walk, came home on a double-steal to make it 8-5.

The play of the game belonged to Apodaca for the second out of the top of the eighth. With one out and no one on, Rance Pittman gave up a long fly ball into the left-center field gap that seemed destined for extra-bases until Apodaca leapt out and grabbed the ball.

The AppleSox ran with that momentum by plating five more runs in the eighth. Grob hit a two-RBI single and then Tino Bethancourt followed up by driving in a pair of his own with a single. Stuka capped the scoring with an RBI single of his own.

The AppleSox go for the series win on Saturday night as they face the Bells at 6:35 p.m.

Listen to postgame interviews with Apodaca and Stuka below.

AppleSox Welcome Bells to Wenatchee for Weekend Series

GAME NOTES

The Wenatchee AppleSox, fresh off taking two-of-three games in a home series against the Walla Walla Sweets, host the Bellingham Bells for three games this weekend at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium.

The AppleSox defeated Walla Walla 5-0 on Tuesday and 3-1 last night to take their first West Coast League series of the season. In all three of their wins this summer the AppleSox have held their opponent to two or fewer runs and their WCL foes have combined to score three runs in those games. However, the AppleSox are seventh out of the 10 teams in the WCL in ERA (3.64) because they have allowed a combined 26 runs to score in games that they have lost.

While pitching has been hot and cold for the AppleSox, their bats have primarily been cold through six games. They have yet to score more than five runs in any of their first six games and hold a league-worst .159 batting average, which is 19 points below the next-closest team, Cowlitz. The saving grace for the offense is that the AppleSox have now homered in four consecutive games, with Adam Grob hitting two of those bombs.

Wenatchee (3-3) takes on a Bellingham (2-4) squad that plays on the road for the first time this season. The Bells lost two of three in their season-opening series against the Port Angeles Lefties before losing the final two games of their home set against the Yakima Valley Pippins. Josh Trujillo and Yugo Hamakawa have paced the Bells offensively. Trujillo is on a five-game hitting streak and has a .350 batting average overall. Hamakawa has hits in three straight games, including a three-hit night on Wednesday and on June 4, while batting .348 overall.

The AppleSox are 66-48 all-time against the Bells, including 50-37 in West Coast League play. The AppleSox swept the Bells in Wenatchee in 2019 and have won four-of-their-last-six games at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium against Bellingham. The Bells went 25-27 in 2019 including 9-16 in the second half of the season after finishing two games back of winning the first half North Division playoff berth.

Tonight’s starting pitcher for the AppleSox is Cole Hatton, an incoming sophomore at Saint Martin’s University. He has pitched in one game this season and it came last Saturday against Portland. He fired the final five innings in relief and earned the save by striking out four and shutting out the Pickles to seal up a 4-2 win.

Hatton posted a 7.31 ERA at Saint Martin’s as a freshman this past spring. He struck out 26, walked 22 and allowed 59 hits in 44.1 innings over 11 games. He was Pacific League MVP in his sophomore and junior years of high school at Ocosta High School in Washington.

Bellingham will counter with Oliver Laufman, who is 0-1 with a 3.37 ERA in one appearance this summer on June 6 against Portland. He allowed five runs in it, including a grand slam in the first inning, but only one run was earned. He is an incoming sophomore at Central Arkansas this fall. Laufman recorded a 3.16 ERA and struck out 39 K in 51.1 innings over eight games (all starts) this past spring at Edmonds CC. In 2020 he had a 2.29 ERA and struck out 18 in 19.2 innings over three games (two starts).

Fans can purchase tickets for tonight’s game and any other June AppleSox home game by visiting applesox.com/tickets.

If you cannot attend tonight’s game, then you can still listen live to the action on Sunny FM. Listeners can tune in at kcsyfm.com on their desktop computer or by tuning in at any of the following stations below.

• Wenatchee: 93.9 FM

• East Wenatchee/Rock Island: 98.1 FM

• Lake Chelan Valley: 95.3 FM

• Brewster/Pateros: 101.3 FM

• Okanogan Valley: 101.9 FM

• Omak/Tonasket/Oroville: 97.7 FM

• Methow Valley: 106.3 FM

Pregame coverage begins at 6:10 p.m. with the Horan Estates Winery Pregame Show and the broadcast wraps up each night with the Denny’s Late Night Postgame Show. Tonight’s game will also have a live video without the radio feed. It can be seen on playsight.com

AppleSox Pitchers Lead Way In Series Win VS Sweets

The Wenatchee AppleSox defeated the Walla Wall Sweets 3-1 on Thursday night at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium to win their first series of the 2021 season. 

The AppleSox dominated on the mound and Tino Bethancourt hit a solo shot in the eighth to give the AppleSox their third win of the season. 

Wenatchee’s pitching was the difference-maker in both of their series wins and on Thursday, three pitchers combined to only allow one run on five hits. Jacob Hughes started and struck out six over five innings. He gave way to Jared Engman (1-0), who followed up by only allowing one hit and a walk in two innings. Cam Liss only allowed one walk in two scoreless innings to pick up the save in his AppleSox debut. 

Walla Walla struck first with a triple followed by an RBI single in the fourth, but the AppleSox tied it in the fifth when Aidan Selfridge led off with a walk and came around to score four batters later when Dakota Duffalo drove him in with a single. 

An inning later, Luc Stuka walked with one out and scored from third on a passed ball to give the AppleSox the lead for good. 

The AppleSox open up a three-game series against the Bellingham Bells starting at 6:35 on Friday night at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. 

Listen to postgame interview with Ian Sanderson and Tino Bethancourt below.

AppleSox Face Sweets in Rubber Match Tonight

GAME NOTES

The Wenatchee AppleSox battle the Walla Walla Sweets in the rubber match of their three-game series at 6:35 p.m. at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. The Sweets defeated the AppleSox 9-2 last night.

Adam Grob hit a two-run homer in the first inning for his second home run in as many at-bats dating back to Tuesday night when he also launched a two-run homer in the seventh inning in his final at-bat of the evening. Grob also hit a double in the eighth inning for his second extra-base hit of the evening and the first two-extra-base-hit game by an AppleSox hitter in 2021.

Walla Walla busted out offensively after being shut out the night before. They scored three runs in the fourth inning, four in the fifth inning and then added two more in the eighth inning on a two-run homer by Seth Ryberg, who drove in three runs last night. Colin Wetereau reached based four times, three times via singles.

The AppleSox have struggled offensively early this season, failing to score more than five runs in a West Coast League game and have to collect double-digit hits in a game. Their pitching staff surrendered nine-or-more runs last night for the second time in the last three games after allowed 11 to score on Sunday against the Pickles.

Gauge Lockhart was originally slated to start tonight’s game for the AppleSox but has been scratched due to his injury. His timeline for a return is to be determined. Head Coach Ian Sanderson’s starter this evening is also to be determined.

Jake Dahle, brother of Tuesday’s starter Nate Dahle, will start for the Sweets tonight. The incoming junior at the College of Southern Idaho recorded a 3.06 ERA in 14 appearances, all starts, and struck out 50 batters over 53 innings.

Grob Homers Again But Sox Fall to Sweets

Adam Grob homered for the second straight night but the Wenatchee AppleSox fell to the Walla Walla Sweets, 9-2, on Wednesday night at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. 

Grob homered in the first inning Wednesday after homering in the seventh inning the night before to go deep in back-to-back at-bats. 

Gavin Gorrell (0-2) started strong, retiring nine of the first 10 hitters, but ran into trouble in the fourth. Three runs came across that inning before four more scored in the fifth. He gave up seven runs on the evening with three of them earned. 

After giving up the lead and trailing 3-2 going to the bottom of the fourth, the AppleSox loaded up the bases with two outs but stranded the bases loaded. 

The AppleSox and Sweets will battle in the rubber match on Thursday night at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium with first pitch at 6:35. 

FULL BOXSCORE

Sox Look to Take Series Against Sweets Tonight

GAME NOTES

The Wenatchee AppleSox look to take the series against the Walla Walla Sweets tonight at 6:35 p.m. at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. The Sox are fresh off shutting out Walla Walla, 5-0, last night.

Hunter Salinas struck out five over five scoreless innings before Tyler Chipman fired three innings of zeroes and then Chase Grillo retired the side in the ninth. Adam Grob hit a two-run homer in the seventh while Mark Steward (2B), Aidan Selfridge (2B) and Tino Bethancourt (1B) all collected RBI base-hits.

Walla Walla was shut out for the first time this season last night and it also marked the first time that they did not win or lose a game by one run. The Sweets did out-hit the AppleSox 7-6 and struck out a season-best 16 batters, which also marked a season-worst for AppleSox hitters. Starter Nathan Dahle punched out nine hitters in four innings but picked up the tough-luck loss after giving up two runs in the third on three hits.

AppleSox hitters did endure a dire stretch from the third inning until the sixth inning. Eleven consecutive Sox hitters were retired in order, including eight via strikeouts. However, the slump ended with a leadoff walk by Payton Flynn, who would come around to score on Grob's home run.

Tonight’s starter for the AppleSox is Gavin Gorrell. The incoming redshirt junior at Utah started the first game of the AppleSox’ West Coast League season on Friday against Portland. He allowed six runs (four earned) against the Pickles, although the AppleSox defense committed three errors in a four-run Portland fourth inning.

Gorrell’s collegiate career has taken lots of twists and turns as Utah will be his third different college. He began as freshman at Northern Colorado in 2018 where he recorded a 9.15 ERA and struck out 21 hitters in 19.2 innings over eight games. Gorrell transferred to Boise State and sat out the 2019 season, but his tenure with the Broncos was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic and cancellation of the Boise State baseball program last year. He recorded a 6.55 ERA and struck out eight hitters in 11 innings over three games.

The brunt of Gorrell’s collegiate pitching has come in the summer. In 2019, he recorded a 4.23 ERA and struck out 32 in 38.1 innings over nine games for the AppleSox. Gorrell started the deciding Game 3 of the West Coast League North Division Series against the Victoria HarbourCats. He allowed five runs (four earned) in a gutsy 5.1 innings for a depleted AppleSox pitching staff. Gorrell struck out nine HarbourCats, a personal season-best but he picked up a no-decision in the loss.

Mason Kokodynski, an incoming sophomore at Loyola Marymount, will toe the rubber for the Sweets. He has pitched in two games in relief this season and has not allowed a run. His most recent appearance was on Sunday against the Cowlitz Black Bears and Kokodynski retired the side in order.

This past spring at Loyola Marymount he recorded a 5.11 ERA and struck out 11 in 12.1 innings over 10 games. In the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, he recorded a 6.48 ERA and struck out five in 8,1 innings over six games.

Kokodynski pitched for the Sweets two summers ago and faced the AppleSox on two occasions in 2019. On June 15, he struck out four and tossed two scoreless innings of relief to earn the win in a 7-6 win on June 16 at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. He faced Wenatchee again on July 26 at Borleske Stadium and gave up three runs (one earned) in 1.2 innings in a 5-3 AppleSox win.

Fans can purchase tickets for AppleSox Lunch Box Giveaway Night online. To purchase tickets to tonight’s game and any other June AppleSox home game, please visit applesox.com/tickets.

If you cannot attend tonight’s game, then you can still listen live to the action on Sunny FM. Listeners can tune in at kcsyfm.com on their desktop computer or by tuning in at any of the following stations below.

• Wenatchee: 93.9 FM

• East Wenatchee/Rock Island: 98.1 FM

• Lake Chelan Valley: 95.3 FM

• Brewster/Pateros: 101.3 FM

• Okanogan Valley: 101.9 FM

• Omak/Tonasket/Oroville: 97.7 FM

• Methow Valley: 106.3 FM

Pregame coverage begins at 6:10 p.m. with the Horan Estates Winery Pregame Show and the broadcast wraps up each night with the Denny’s Late Night Postgame Show. Tonight’s game will also have a live video without the radio feed. It can be seen on playsight.com

AppleSox Shut Out Sweets For Series-Opening Win

The Wenatchee AppleSox blanked the Walla Walla Sweets, 5-0, behind five shutout innings from Hunter Salinas and a two-run homer from Adam Grob on Tuesday night at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium.

Salinas dominated on the mound, striking out five and only allowing four baserunners. He left the game with a 2-0 lead but the AppleSox added three more insurance runs. 2018 Cashmere High School graduate Tyler Chipman followed him up by tossing three scoreless innings before Chase Grillo fired a scoreless ninth for the team’s first shutout of the season.

The AppleSox scored first for the first time this season when Grob led off the third with a single and then immediately scored on Mark Steward’s RBI double to left field. Aidan Selfridge, who joined the team on Monday and made his season-debut on Tuesday night, followed up two batters later with a double to left of his own to score Steward.

After the double by Selfridge, the next 11 AppleSox hitters were retired in order, but once they did get a base-runner they wouldn’t waste the opportunity. Payton Flynn drew a leadoff walk to begin the seventh and would score when Grob crushed a 358-foot home run over the left field fence with two outs. Tino Bethancourt added an RBI single in the eighth inning with two outs.

The AppleSox will go for the series win against the Sweets on Wednesday night when Gavin Gorrell gets the ball for the 6:35 p.m. first pitch.

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Listen to postgame interviews with Head Coach Ian Sanderson as well as Salinas and Grob below.

AppleSox Begin Long Homestand Against Sweets

GAME NOTES

The Wenatchee AppleSox open a lengthy homestand with a 6:35 p.m. game against the Walla Walla Sweets tonight.

This evening marks the first of nine straight home games that the AppleSox will play. The first six come in the next six days before the team is off June 14-17. The AppleSox played two non-league games against the Northwest Star Academy last week and dropped both games.

Wenatchee spent the past weekend on the road and took one-of-three games against the Portland Pickles. The AppleSox bounced back from being one-hit on Friday and won Saturday thanks to five shutout innings of relief from Cole Hatton and six stolen bases, including two steals of home. Ben Leid homered on Sunday but Portland struck early and often to win 11-1.

Walla Walla is coming off taking two-of-three in their season-opening series against the Cowlitz Black Bears. All three games were decided by one run at David Story Field.

The most impressive game was Saturday when the Sweets, trailing by one run after giving up a run in the bottom of the seventh, rallied to score four runs in the top of the eighth. They would give up one run each of the final two innings but held on for the series-clinching win.

Justin Folz led the way for the Sweets at the plate by going 5-for-11 and driving in three runs. He was the catalyst for Walla Walla offensively on Saturday, hitting four-for-five with a solo home run and a double to go along with two runs scored.

Tonight’s starting pitcher is Hunter Salinas, an incoming sophomore at Colorado State Pueblo. He tossed two scoreless innings of relief against the Portland Pickles on Friday night in his first appearance this season. He did appear in a non-league game against the Northwest Star Academy on June 3 in his first appearance in an AppleSox uniform. Salinas tossed two scoreless frames, including working out of a one-out bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning.

Walla Walla will toss Nate Dahle, who is in his second season with the Sweets and is an incoming junior at Southern Idaho. He tossed a scoreless inning of relief against Cowlitz this past Saturday. Dahle recorded a 3.12 ERA in 10 games this spring at school and had a 2.87 ERA in 14 games for Walla Walla in 2019.

Gavin Gorrell and Gauge Lockhart are Head Coach Ian Sanderson’s probables for the final two games of this series with the Sweets.

Tonight's game is a $2 Off Tuesday. Fans can purchase tickets and select concession items for $2 off their regular price. Tomorrow night is AppleSox Lunch Box Giveaway Night. To purchase tickets to tonight’s game and any other June AppleSox home game, please visit applesox.com/tickets.

If you cannot attend tonight’s game, then you can still listen live to the action on Sunny FM. Listeners can tune in at kcsyfm.com on their desktop computer or by tuning in at any of the following stations below.

• Wenatchee: 93.9 FM

• East Wenatchee/Rock Island: 98.1 FM

• Lake Chelan Valley: 95.3 FM

• Brewster/Pateros: 101.3 FM

• Okanogan Valley: 101.9 FM

• Omak/Tonasket/Oroville: 97.7 FM

• Methow Valley: 106.3 FM

Pregame coverage begins at 6:10 p.m. with the Horan Estates Winery Pregame Show and the broadcast wraps up each night with the Denny’s Late Night Postgame Show. Tonight’s game will also have a live video without the radio feed. It can be seen on playsight.com

Pickles Strike Heavy Early, Beat AppleSox.

The Portland Pickles (2-1) overwhelmed the Wenatchee AppleSox (1-2) with crooked innings from the second through fifth to take the rubber match of the weekend series, 11-1, on Sunday.

The PIckles scored four times in the second, twice in the third , twice more in the fourth and three times in the fifth to wrap up the series with a win. Leftfielder Ryan Guardino led the way with three doubles and 3 RBI.

The AppleSox’ only run came in the top of the third when Wenatchee Valley College catcher Ben Leid led off with a home run over the short fence in right field. Adam Grob doubled with one out and Luc Stuka hit a bloop double to left to put runners at second and third, but the Sox failed to drive either in and the deficit only grew from there.

AppleSox starter Reid Rasmussen (0-1) tossed a scoreless first but ran into trouble in the second when he faced eight men and allowed a pair of extra base hits, two walks and balked in a run. Jasper Nelson tossed two scoreless innings and Martin Hawell stuck out the side while not allowing any runs in the ninth.

The AppleSox are off on Monday before playing six games in as many days as home. It all starts on Tuesday with three games against the Walla Walla Sweets, who took two of three games this weekend against the Cowlitz Black Bears. Tuesday’s game is a $2 Off Tuesday with tickets and select concession items $2 off. Wednesday’s game is an AppleSox Lunch Box Giveaway Night. With Apple Blossom Festival and the AppleSox both in town this week, it’s a great time to be in Wenatchee. Tickets to all AppleSox home games can be purchased at AppleSox.com/tickets.

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AppleSox Go For Series Win vs Pickles

GAME NOTES

The Wenatchee AppleSox look to take their first West Coast League series of the season when they face the Portland Pickles at 5:05 tonight at Walker Stadium. The AppleSox won, 4-2, last night thanks to a three-run fourth inning and five shutout innings of relief from Cole Hatton.

The Pickles struck first with a two-run homer in the first inning by Jacob Jablonski but the Sox got one back in third when Luc Stuka doubled and eventually stole home on a pickoff to first. The AppleSox scored three in the fourth thanks to four stolen bases in the inning and RBI singles by Tino Bethancourt and Garrett Cutting.

Hatton carried Wenatchee the rest of the way, only allowing three walks and one base hit the rest of the way. Cutting helped him out defensively with a diving play up the middle on a sharply-hit ball.

Tonight, Reid Rasmussen toes the rubber for the AppleSox as they go for back-to-back wins to close out the series. Rasmussen tossed two innings in a non-league game against the NW Star academy on Wednesday. After tossing a scoreless third inning partly thanks to picking off a runner, he allowed three runs on two hits in the fourth in an eventual 7-6 loss. Rasmussen struck out one, walked one and allowed three hits.

Rasmussen had great first season at Central Washington as he earned First Team All-GNAC honors this Spring. He recorded a 4.47 ERA and struck out 25 in 32.2 innings across eight games (all starts) as a COVID freshman. He appeared in three games for Yakima Valley College for the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, recording a 7.50 ERA and striking out three over six innings across three games.

In between his first two years of college Rasmussen tossed a seven-inning no hitter while pitching for the Yakima Valley Pepsi Pak American Legion Senior Baseball team. He committed to Central Washington five days later.

Rasmussen led Selah High School to a district championship in 2018 but missed his senior season due to Tommy John Surgery.

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Though the AppleSox are on the road, you can still listen live to the action on Sunny FM. Listeners can tune in at kcsyfm.com on their desktop computer or by tuning in at any of the following stations below.

• Wenatchee: 93.9 FM

• East Wenatchee/Rock Island: 98.1 FM

• Lake Chelan Valley: 95.3 FM

• Brewster/Pateros: 101.3 FM

• Okanogan Valley: 101.9 FM

• Omak/Tonasket/Oroville: 97.7 FM

• Methow Valley: 106.3 FM

Pregame coverage begins at 6:40 p.m. with the Horan Estates Winery Pregame Show and the broadcast wraps up each night with the Denny’s Late Night Postgame Show.

Live stats can be found on Pointstreak and tonight’s game can be watched on the Portland Pickles Facebook page.

Hatton Tosses Five Shutout Innings, Sox Top Pickles

Cole Hatton tossed the final five innings of Saturday night’s game without allowing a run and the Wenatchee AppleSox defeated the Portland Pickles, 4-2, on Saturday night at Walker Stadium.

Hatton wasn’t the only star for the AppleSox. Garrett Cutting drove in a run and made a stellar defensive play to save a run in his AppleSox debut. Tino Bethancourt went 2-for-3 with an RBI, Luc Stuka doubled and scored twice and Dakota Duffalo went 3-for-4. The AppleSox stole six bases, including two steals of home. Four of those steals came in the fourth inning.

The AppleSox scored once in the second three times in the fourth inning as their offense recovered after being one-hit the night before. In a thrilling game with teams stranding scoring chances nearly every inning, it was the AppleSox who triumphed to open up the weekend series.

The excitement began in the bottom of the first when Pickles shortstop Jacob Jablonski launched a two-run homer into the AppleSox bullpen.The AppleSox responded in the top of the second when Stuka led of with a double and Duffalo singled to put runners at first and third. Pickles starter Trace Hokkanen tossed a pickoff throw to first and a diving Duffalo got tangled up with first basemen Tanner Haney. Stuka took off from third as the ball popped free and was credited with a steal of home to cut the deficit in half.

Both teams went down quietly in the third but the AppleSox went to work with one out in the fourth. Cutting drove in the first run of the inning after Stuka was hit by a pitch and Duffalo singled. Bethancourt followed with his second hit of the game and then he and Cutting each moved up 90 feet apiece on a double steal. It wouldn’t be the last double steal of the inning. Payton Flynn reached on a fielder’s choice, then took off for second base and, once a throw was drawn, Tino Bethancourt took off from second base and scored the third run of the inning.

Because of Hatton’s strong relief effort, the AppleSox didn’t need anymore runs. He entered in the fifth inning and would only allow two hits for the rest of the game while striking out four. He earned the save for his herculean effort out of the bullpen.

He pitched in and out of a jam in the seventh. With one out, Hatton struck out Evan Leibl, but a passed ball and a throwing error allowed him to reach first. Two more Pickles reached on an infield single and a walk to load up the bases with two outs. Sam Haney hit a sharp ball up the middle just to the right of second base but Cutting slid with one knee and gloved the ball with his extended left hand then flipped to get the force out at second base.

The win marked the first for Ian Sanderson as AppleSox head coach and his first as a head coach at the collegiate level.

The AppleSox will go for the series win on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. as Reid Rasmussen toes the rubber.

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AppleSox Look to Wake Up Bats Against Portland

GAME NOTES

The Wenatchee AppleSox are looking to bounce back from last night's 6-0 loss to Portland. The Pickles scored two runs in the first inning after a bases-loaded single, then broke the game with four more runs in the fourth thanks to three AppleSox errors.

The Pickles struck out 12 Sox hitters and walked just two. Mark Steward got the AppleSox lone hit with one out and one on in the first inning. If the AppleSox score tonight, it will be the first run that they have scored at Walker Stadium after three games being shut out by the Pickles.

The loss to Portland was the Sox first WCL opening shutout loss since Jun 2, 2017 @ Walla Walla (4-0). The AppleSox have now lost their first WCL road game in seven of the last eight seasons. Their only win in their first road game of the season came on June 1, 2018, at the Victora HarbourCats, snapping a five-year winless streak.

Tonight’s starting pitcher is Gauge Lockhart, an incoming sophomore at Brown University. He is looking to build off a stellar Wednesday night against the Northwest Star Academy. He faced six hitters and retired them all including four via strikeouts in two innings on just 20 pitches.

Lockhart did not pitch this past spring because the 2021 Ivy League athletic season was canceled. He also did not get the opportunity to pitch as a senior for Delta High School in Colorado because the entire season was also canceled. The last time Lockhart played a season, he thrived. He recorded a 3.40 ERA and struck out 47 in 22.2 innings over 15 games as a junior. He was an All-State selection and also was awarded Western Slope Player of the Year.

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Though the AppleSox are on the road, you can still listen live to the action on Sunny FM. Listeners can tune in at kcsyfm.com on their desktop computer or by tuning in at any of the following stations below.

• Wenatchee: 93.9 FM

• East Wenatchee/Rock Island: 98.1 FM

• Lake Chelan Valley: 95.3 FM

• Brewster/Pateros: 101.3 FM

• Okanogan Valley: 101.9 FM

• Omak/Tonasket/Oroville: 97.7 FM

• Methow Valley: 106.3 FM

Pregame coverage begins at 6:40 p.m. with the Horan Estates Winery Pregame Show and the broadcast wraps up each night with the Denny’s Late Night Postgame Show.

Live stats can be found on Pointstreak and tonight’s game can be watched on the Portland Pickles Facebook page.

AppleSox Bats Stymied By Pickles

The Wenatchee AppleSox were held to one hit and fell to the Portland Pickles, 6-0, on Friday night at Walker Stadium.

The Pickles struck with two runs in the first inning on a bases-loaded single to take a 2-0 lead and then add four more runs in the fourth inning to put the game away. Three of the AppleSox’ four errors came in the fourth inning as each of the first five batters reached base in the inning and eight Pickles hit in the inning.

Gavin Gorrell (0-1) allowed six runs, four earned, in four innings and committed a couple of errors. Hunter Salinas and Jacob Hughes each tossed two scoreless innings of relief, striking out three batters apiece.

The AppleSox threatened in the first inning and appeared poised to make some early noise. Jackson Van De Brake was hit by the first pitch he saw with one out and then Mark Steward singled. However, both runners would be stranded and it would not only be the AppleSox’ final hit of the game, it would be the final time that they got a runner into scoring position.

The AppleSox look to bounce back by winning the second games of the series on at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday at Walker Stadium. Gauge Lockhart toes the rubber for Wenatchee and looks to build off his impressive start on Wednesday, when he struck out four of the six Northwest Star Academy hitters that he faced in two innings.

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