AppleSox Play Penultimate Game of 2022 Regular Season Tonight
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The Wenatchee AppleSox go for their ninth series victory of the summer tonight as they face the Walla Walla Sweets at 6:35 at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium.
Wenatchee clinched a postseason spot with a 10-1 win last night. Evan Canfield struck out five over five scoreless innings and then Hunter Gibson punched out four more in the final four innings for the series-opening win. The AppleSox also scored five runs in the third inning and then five more in the seventh.
With 10 runs scored last night the AppleSox continue to lead the West Coast League in runs scored with 373 through their first 52 games. They have shattered their previous record of 348 in 54 games in 2019. The AppleSox also have the league’s second-best batting average with a .286 mark.
The AppleSox can clinch the North Division second half title by winning on Saturday or Sunday as long as Edmonton does not sweep Victoria. The Riverhawks defeated the HarbourCats, 9-8, on Friday night, so a Victoria win on Saturday along with an AppleSox victory would give Wenatchee the second half title and home-field advantage in the first round of the postseason. That would mean that the AppleSox would be the second seed in the North Division Semifinals and would host Game 2 on Wednesday, Aug. 10 and Game 3, if necessary, on Aug. 11.
Tyler Chipman starts for the second time this year in the penultimate game of the regular season. He is in his third season pitching for the AppleSox and was acknowledged prior to Friday night’s game for this achievement. The righthander from Seattle U has no record and a 9.31 ERA in five appearances with five strikeouts, 13 walks and 14 hits allowed in 9.2 innings.
Hayden Hattenbach tosses for Walla Walla in his fifth start of the season. The southpaw is 0-4 with an 8.12 ERA, 25 strikeouts, 19 walks and 24 hits in 31 innings over 10 games. Hattenbach, a UC Santa Barbara product, seven runs (five earned) over four innings a week ago against Corvallis and also suffered the loss the week before that against the AppleSox. On July 24 he surrendered five runs on four hits and four walk with three strikeouts in four innings against Wenatchee.
Tonight’s game is sponsored by Sunny FM and Journey Travel and Tours. They are giving away a free trip to Hawaii for five nights at the Royal Kona Resort with accommodation and travel provided. Nine random ticket numbers will be drawn and those nine fans will head onto the field to roll coconuts after the game. The closest coconut to home plate wins the free trip to Hawaii. Beat the lines at the game by purchasing tickets now at saferseating.com.
Tonight’s game can be listened to live on kcsyfm.com on your computer or smart phone. If you live in Washington you can listen on your radio on any of the following stations:
· 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
Coverage of tonight’s game begins at 6:10 p.m. with the Horan Estates Winery Pregame Show. Stick around after the game to hear the postgame show with player and coach interviews if the AppleSox win.
