Huge Second Inning Gives Darlington His First Win
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Brandham Ponce hit a grand slam in an eight-run second inning and the AppleSox defeated the Port Angeles Lefties, 16-2, in front of 1,010 fans on Monday night at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium.
The win marked the first for Mitch Darlington as head coach of the AppleSox. The AppleSox helped give Darlington the big victory by topping their previous season-high for runs scored of 14 set on Opening Night on Friday.
Ponce’s two-out blast cleared the bases and marked his first home run of the season to give Wenatchee a 5-2 lead at the time. Five consecutive hitters would draw walks afterwards and four of them scored thanks to four wild pitches and a passed ball to give Wenatchee a commanding 8-2 lead after two innings.
Ponce wasn’t finished offensively and he wasn’t alone with a big night. He doubled in a run in the seventh and added a single in the eighth to finish a triple short of the cycle. Aiva Arquette led all AppleSox hitters with four hits and drove in three runs in his AppleSox debut. Joichiro Oyama recorded his fourth consecutive multi-hit game to open the season and led the AppleSox with three runs scored.
Kota Sato (1-0) bounced back from giving up two runs in the first inning to fire four scoreless innings afterwards. He retired each of the final nine hitters that he faced in order and struck out six hitters over five innings. Ryan Arredondo followed up with four scoreless innings to bookend the night and earned his first save of the summer.
Wenatchee scored in all but two innings and outhit their opponent for the fourth consecutive game. Every AppleSox starter reached base at least once and five of them scored multiple runs.
The AppleSox look to get the series win on Tuesday night when they face the Lefties again at 6:35 p.m. It’s a $2 Off Tuesday meaning that all tickets are $2 off as are hot dogs, burgers and Coors draft beer. It’s also Wenatchee Valley College Night and the gates open at 5:30 p.m.
Listen to the latest edition of the AppleSox podcast below to hear interviews with Ponce, Arquette, Darlington and Oyama.
