AppleSox Go For 12th Series Victory On A WINatchee Wednesday
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The Wenatchee AppleSox look to extend their winning streak eight games as they face the Bellingham Bells tonight at 6:35 at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium.
Wenatchee is over halfway through its final homestand of the regular season and attempts to win the series against Bellingham after taking the series opener, 5-1, last night. It marked the AppleSox’ 12th consecutive home victory in league play, a new franchise record.
Evan Canfield continued his impressive summer for the AppleSox by recording each of the final 16 outs in order to account for 5.1 scoreless innings. That effort marked his career-high for innings pitched in a relief effort in two summers with the AppleSox. Canfield’s ERA is now 1.73 in 10 relief appearances.
The AppleSox can inch closer to clinching a playoff victory with a win tonight. Their next victory would give them 32 on the summer and none of the bottom four teams in the North Division in terms of overall record would be able to top that total. The only team currently out of the top four playoff spots that could equal the AppleSox win total if Wenatchee wins tonight is Nanaimo but the NightOwls lost all six games in the regular-season series and thus do not hold the tiebreaker. Nanaimo could still win the second half, as they only sit six games back of Wenatchee.
The opportunity to have home-field advantage in the postseason is still at play with 11 games remaining in the regular season. Wenatchee sits atop the North Division both overall and in the second half. If the AppleSox win the second half and finish with the best overall record in the WCL then they will earn home-field advantage for the entire postseason.
The AppleSox send Trent Liolios to the mound for his second start of the summer. Liolios entered last night’s game as a defensive replacement in left field and went 1-for-2 with a double but will toe the rubber tonight in the second game of the series. The right-hander from Northwestern is 2-0 with a 5.19 ERA, eight strikeouts, five walks and nine hits over 8.2 innings in two games. He made his first start of the season on July 18, only giving up three runs over five innings to earn the win against Bend. Liolios also pitched in three non-league games and did not allow a run over 7.1 innings while striking out eight.
Bellingham looks to get back in the win column by opposing with Isaac Yeager. The right-hander from Washington is 0-1 with a 1.88 ERA, 10 strikeouts, nine walks and 11 hits over 14.1 innings in six games (three starts). Yeager is coming off tossing a season-high four innings against Cowlitz on July 18 in which he allowed one run on two hits, three walks and one strikeout.
Tonight’s game is the final WINatchee Wednesday of the summer. Just by attending the game you are eligible to win prizes from local businesses. Enter your name upon arrival and listen closely during the middle innings. Tickets can be purchased at applesox.com/2023-schedule.
Tonight’s game will not be broadcast on the AppleSox video livestream due to technical difficulties. You can still listen live to the action on KCSY Sunny FM with pregame coverage presented by Kenady Real Estate Group beginning 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 FM in 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
Listen to the latest edition of the AppleSox Podcast below to hear a recap of last night’s game, highlights and interviews with Cam Hoiland, Felix Schlede and Carson Ohland. Subscribe to the AppleSox Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
