Otis Statum Clubs Two Home Runs, Sox Win 9-1

Otis Statum's first two extra-base hits of WCL play cleared the wall at Oslund Field in Gresham, Ore. The Sox went on to win 9-1. 

GRESHAM - The Wenatchee AppleSox (7-9), bashed three home runs, and Otis Statum hit two of them in a 9-1 win over the Gresham GreyWolves (6-11), Friday night at Oslund Field in Gresham, Ore. 

Statum put the AppleSox on the board in the second inning, when he hammered a three-run home run over the left center field fence. Jordan Rathbone and Alex Gonzales scored, and were aboard on a single and a walk. 

Gresham starter Chris Brown (0-2) continued to struggle with the long ball, Friday, when Ryan Kreidler hit a solo home run in the third inning, following Shane Martinez scoring on a wild pitch. 

Otis Statum ended Brown’s night on the hill with a second home run. His solo shot to open the fourth inning, put the AppleSox up 6-0. It was the first time an AppleSox player had hit two home runs in a game since Evan Douglas accomplished the feat at Victoria, June 26, 2015.

Wenatchee added a seventh run on a Martinez sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. 

Justin Blatner (2-0) carried the AppleSox through 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out four batters while scattering six hits.

The AppleSox scored their last two runs on RBI singles for Michael Toglia and Rathbone in the seventh. Rathbone finished with four hits for the AppleSox, and Martinez, Kreidler, and Statum also chipped-in with multi-hit efforts. 

Gresham got its lone run in the eighth inning off of Taylor Borchers on an RBI groundout. Borchers threw the final 3 1/3 innings for Wenatchee to earn a save.

Game two of the three-game series is Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. Grady Miller (1-1) will pitch for Wenatchee. The AppleSox are going for a fourth-straight WCL series win.