AppleSox Travel North Of The Border For First Time In 2023
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The Wenatchee AppleSox make their first road trip north of the border as they face the Kamloops NorthPaws tonight at 6:35 at Norbrock Stadium. The AppleSox and the NorthPaws are off to very different starts to the summer with Wenatchee sitting a half-a-game out of first place in the North while Kamloops is in last place. The AppleSox won their fourth series of the summer by taking two-of-three from Kelowna this past weekend while Kamloops dropped to seven games out of first place by being swept by Port Angeles.
Wenatchee wrapped up its homestand with a non-league victory on Monday over the Redmond Dudes to produce a 3-1 effort in a four-game stretch at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. A few newcomers got to make their mark in their first game with the team as Nick Putnam led the newcomers with two different RBI singles. two different RBI singles. Josh Williams and MJ Sweeney also collected hits in their first game with the AppleSox.
Easton Amundson and Brandham Ponce both got well deserved days off on Monday. Amundson has played in all but one of the AppleSox' first 15 games in WCL play and leads the league with five home runs, 17 RBI and a .707 slugging percentage while his 18 runs and two triples are tied for the most in the league. Amundson’s 1.115 OPS leads all WCL players with at least 50 plate appearances. He was named WCL Player of the Week on Monday after batting .291 (7-for-24) with a double, two triples, three home runs and 10 RBI in six games last week.
Ponce isn't far behind Amundson in terms of production and has regularly batted after Amundson, giving the AppleSox arguably the best combination of a no. 3 hitter and a cleanup hitter in the WCL. He arrived in Wenatchee on June 6 and has appeared in every league game since then. Ponce is on a 10-game hitting streak and is feasting on right-handed pitching, holding a .429 batting average (12-for-28) through 11 games. He has 15 RBI and is the only other AppleSox player with double-digit runs driven in besides Amundson.
Quincy Vassar makes his third start of the summer for the AppleSox in the series opener. Vassar last faced the NorthPaws on Aug. 10, 2022, in game 2 of the North Division Series as the AppleSox defeated the NorthPaws, 17-2, at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium to sweep the first-round matchup. Vassar matched his season high with eight strikeouts while allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and one walk in seven innings. The Brewster native is 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in two games this summer and is coming off allowing two runs in five innings a week ago against the Springfield Drifters. Vassar has walked at least four hitters in each of his first two games after issuing three free passes once in 10 games last summer.
Kamloops has not announced a probable pitcher.
Fans can tune in to the action tonight and all season long on KCSY Sunny FM. Pregame coverage begins at 6:10 p.m. You can listen online worldwide at kcsyfm.com, the TuneIn radio app or on one of the following translators.
93.9 FM in Wenatchee
95.3 FM in the Lake Chelan Valley
97.7 FMin Omak, Riverside, Tonasket and Oroville
98.1 FM in East Wenatchee, Rock Island and Quincy
101.3 FM in Brewster and Pateros
106.3 FM in the Methow Valley
All West Coast League games can also be watched on wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv.
Listen to the latest edition of the AppleSox Podcast below to hear interviews with Nick Putnam, Mason Strong and Sebastian David. Subscribe to the AppleSox Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
