AppleSox Welcome Familiar Faces, Pippins to Wenatchee This Weekend
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The Wenatchee AppleSox face the Yakima Valley Pippins for the first time this season in a three-game set beginning tonight at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium at 6:35 p.m.
Former AppleSox head coach Kyle Krustangel and assistant coach Cash Ulrich return to Wenatchee for the first time since quitting to take on the same roles with the Pippins. From 2017-19 the duo led the AppleSox to an 84-78 record and came within three outs of leading the team to the 2019 West Coast League Championship Series.
Krustangel and Ulrich aren’t the only familiar faces on Yakima Valley. Four different Pippins played for the AppleSox previously. Spencer Marenco, Landon Schirer and Seth Kuykendall played for Wenatchee in 2019 while Mason Marenco suited up for the AppleSox in 2018. Schirer led the 2019 AppleSox with six saves and has already recorded that many this summer in six appearances. Kuykendall earned All-WCL Honorable Mention honors in 2019 after recording a 2.17 ERA in 10 games. Mason Marenco was one of the AppleSox’ four All-Stars in 2018 and his younger brother, Spencer, joined the team late in 2019 and played in eight games.
The Pippins won the first half with a 15-9 mark and finished four games ahead of the next-closest team. The Sox are three games back of first place Yakima Valley in the second half but if the Pippins win the second half, the second-half playoff spot goes to the team with the next-best overall record. The AppleSox sit a game-and-a-half back of having the next-best overall record.
Taking the ball today is lefthander Jack Lee. The southpaw is 0-1 with a 7.04 earned run average through two appearances this summer. Lee is really fresh after not pitching last weekend against the CCL All-Stars. The future UC-Santa Barbara Gaucho was a late scratch due to an illness but is ready to go today against the best team in the North Division. This will be his second straight start.
Battling Lee for Yakima Valley is Kenny Johnson. Johnson, who was Lee’s teammate this past spring at Cal State-Bakersfield, is 3-3 with a 5.11 earned run average. The Lancaster, CA native is coming off back-to-back starts with six or more innings and six strikeouts. Time to see who will win in this battle of former CSUB Roadrunners!
Tickets can be purchased at the gate or online at applesox.com/tickets.
The AppleSox will also provide a live video broadcast of tonight’s game with a synced-up radio feed. It can be seen on playsight.com. Joel Norman and Reily Chestnut will provide play-by-play coverage.
Listen live to the action on Sunny FM at kcsyfm.com on your 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 with the Denny’s Late Night Postgame Show.
Live stats can be found on Pointstreak.
