APPLESOX STUNNED IN EXTRA-INNING HEARTBREAKER, SWEPT AT WALLA WALLA

WALLA WALLA, Wash. – In a game featuring three ties and four lead changes, the Wenatchee AppleSox (0-3), fell 7-6 to the Walla Walla Sweets (3-0), in a 12-inning affair at Borleske Stadium. The win capped a series sweep for the Sweets, Sunday.

The back-and-forth game lacked rhythm most of the afternoon. The Sweets scored first, in the opening inning, following two, two-out walks and a single.

The AppleSox answered back in the third with an RBI groundout for Reagan Teegarden. Then, Wenatchee took its first lead of 2017 in the fourth inning on a Dugan Shirer fielder’s choice, followed by Parker Price reaching base on a dropped third strike, which also allowed a third AppleSox run to score.

Walla Walla erased the AppleSox lead in the fifth, chasing Gerald Hein (0-1) with one out and the bases loaded. Hunter Boyd entered and walked in a run. A fielder’s choice and wild pitch scored the other two runs, and the Sweets took a 4-3 advantage.

Boyd stayed on for the AppleSox in relief and fired scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth. He struck out four batters, to add to Hein’s nine strikeouts on the day.

Errors were critical in the early innings for both teams. The AppleSox committed three, while Walla Walla suffered two. The miscues set up run-scoring opportunities.

Wenatchee tied the game in the fourth inning on an Alex Gonzales double that brought home Evan Johnson. Later in the inning, Dugan Shirer also connected on a double in the inning to plate two more runs and a 6-4 AppleSox lead.

Shirer went 3-for-5 with a run scored, three RBI and two stolen bases.

Walla Walla got to Wenatchee for a run in each of the eighth and ninth innings. Boyd pitched the AppleSox through the 10th and 11th innings, but Wenatchee was unable to plate a go-ahead run.

In the 12th, Walla Walla won the game with a base hit off of Steen Fredrickson (0-1). Vinny Capra, the Sweets’ leadoff hitter, drove in the game winning run.

Wenatchee heads to Victoria (3-1) to continue it’s lone six-game road trip of 2017. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m. tomorrow from Royal Athletic Park. The pitching matchup pits right-hander Collin Maier (0-0) up against HarbourCat righty Ethan Fox (0-0).

The Wenatchee AppleSox will head to Victoria for a three-game series, June 5-7. The AppleSox play their home opener in Wenatchee Thursday, June 8 against Victoria. For more information, fans can visit www.applesox.com.