AppleSox Continue Series With Pippins

The AppleSox and the Pippins meet at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium tonight at 7:05 p.m. Wenatchee is looking to even the series. 

YAKIMA VALLEY PIPPINS (1-0) at WENATCHEE APPLESOX (0-1)
Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium       |       7:05 p.m.
R- Tanner Simpson (0-0) vs. R- Kyle Blankenship (0-0)
GAME NOTES       |       APPLESOX STATS       |       LISTEN LIVE

The Wenatchee AppleSox (0-1, 0-0, North), tied for third place in the division, host the Yakima Valley Pippins (1-0, 0-0 South) in the second game of a three-game set with the Yakima Valley Pippins...last night, the AppleSox had a streak of four-consecutive home-opening wins snapped by the visiting Pippins...the AppleSox are playing their 17th franchise season (12th in the WCL) and are led by second-year skipper, AJ Proszek (27-32) (.458), who is in his 4th season with the Sox...Proszek is assisted by Kyle Hunt and Colton Loomis, both in their first seasons.

LAST NIGHT -- PIPPINS 6 - APPLESOX 1
WENATCHEE -  The Yakima Valley Pippins (1-0), were powered by dominant pitching en route to a 6-1 win over the Wenatchee AppleSox (0-1), Friday night at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium in the teams’ West Coast League opener...the Pippins combined to toss 14 strikeouts, Friday, and starter Zach Draper set the tone with 6 strikeouts in the first five innings...Wenatchee and Yakima Valley were scoreless through two innings of play, and Wenatchee starter Jimmy Dobrash responded to a leadoff single in the top of the first by striking out six of the next eight batters he faced...in the third, the Pippins opened the scoring with an RBI single from Jay Schuyler...Mitchell Marimoto picked up the second RBI of the frame, driving in Derek Molina, who was hit by pitch earlier in the inning...Shuyler came around to score a third run on a wild pitch in the inning...the score would hold until the seventh...the Pippins cashed in on an RBI single from Ryan Garcia, a walk of Bonneau, an RBI single for Tanner Simpson, and an additional run when Bonneau later came to score on a wild pitch...Wenatchee claimed its lone run of the game in the eighth...with one out in the bottom half, Parker Price led off with a triple Sheldon Liikala later drove in Price with a fielder’s choice 4-3 groundout.

TONIGHT'S NOTES

2015: BLANKENSHIP AS A STARTER
Kyle Blankenship totaled an 0-1 record in three starts last season for the AppleSox...his most recent start was August 7 at Yakima Valley, a game the AppleSox lost 9-2...Blankenship earned a no-decision after holding the Pippins to 2 runs over 6.0 innings on 8 hits...he struck out three batters and did not issue a walk.

FAMILIAR FOES
Wenatchee finished its 2015 season against the Yakima Valley Pippins at County Stadium...Yakima Valley won two-of-three games in the series, including the series and season finale by a score of 4-3...in last year’s series, four of the nine games were decided by two runs or fewer...now in different divisions, the AppleSox and Pippins are only slated to meet in the regular season one other time in 2016...July 15-17 to end the pre-All Star schedule at County Stadium in Yakima...the Pippins now have won 4 of the last 5 meetings in the series.

2015 SEASON IN REVIEW
The Wenatchee AppleSox (24-30), failed to make the playoffs for just the third time in franchise history in 2015, after a run of 14-consecutive playoff berths was nixed in 2014...the AppleSox...Wenatchee finished 15-16 at home and 12-15 on the road last season...the AppleSox played 6 extra-inning games, going 2-4...the AppleSox had won their last three divisional series’ before running into Yakima Valley in the final series of the season...as mentioned a 2-1 series score in favor of the Pippins...Keston Hiura was the Sox’ offensive standout, while Hunter Wells tied the teams’ single-season wins record (7).

ABOUT THE APPLESOX ALL-TIME
Wenatchee is a perennial powerhouse in the West Coast League...with five championships, Wenatchee is the most decorated franchise in the league...Wenatchee has also been runner-up twice in the championship, which is a second-best mark in the league, and has won its division six times, also second best...the AppleSox’ nine playoff appearances are tied for first with Corvallis for most in the league.