Brewster Grads Lead AppleSox Past Lefties

Brewster natives Quincy Vassar and Conner Ashworth combined to strike out 16 Port Angeles Lefties to earn a 5-0 shutout victory on Tuesday night at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium.

Vassar punched out eight Lefties in six innings before Ashworth (1-0) took over in the seventh and retired all nine hitters that he faced, including striking out each of the final eight hitters. They kept the crowd of 965 fans entertained all night long and helped the AppleSox pick up their first series victory of the season.

Wenatchee entered Tuesday night having scored 41 runs through its first four games while allowing 39 in that span but it was their pitching staff’s time to shine. Tuesday’s win marked the second straight night that the AppleSox only needed to use two pitchers to earn a victory.

The AppleSox bats were kept at bay while Vassar and Ashworth stymied the Lefties until the bottom of the seventh inning. After Ashworth’s first inning of work kept the game scoreless Wenatchee sent nine men to the plate and scored five runs to take the lead for good. Joichiro Oyama drew a bases loaded walk to score the game-winning run and Michael Davinni provided insurance with a two-run double. A wild pitch allowed Oyama to score and then Davinni scored as Brandham Ponce reached on an error.

The five-run seventh inning marked the sixth time in the season’s first five games that the AppleSox scored four-or-more runs in the same inning. Nick Giesinger, signed to a 10-day contract on Monday several weeks after completing his sophomore year at Wenatchee Valley College, doubled and drew two walks to reach in all three plate appearances in his second game with the AppleSox.

The AppleSox go for the sweep of the Lefties on Wednesday when they face them again at 6:35 p.m. It’s the first WINatchee Wednesday of the summer and all fans are eligible to win prizes from local businesses during the third-through-sixth innings just by attending the game. Tickets can be purchased now at saferseating.com

Listen to the latest edition of the Wenatchee AppleSox podcast to hear postgame interviews with Vassar, Ashwworth and head coach Mitch Darlington.