AppleSox Host Riverhawks For First Time Tonight
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The Wenatchee AppleSox begin their final home series of the regular season tonight as they face the Edmonton Riverhawks at 6:35 at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium.
Wenatchee (32-13, 13-5 second half) wraps up its 12-game homestand this weekend looking for one last home series victory. The AppleSox are 18-6 at home and have captured six-of-eight series at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. They had won 12 consecutive games in league play prior to Wednesday night but with Thursday’s loss have now dropped back-to-back games at home for the first time this summer. They remain in first place in the North Division in the second half, a-game-and-a-half ahead of Victoria and 2.5 games ahead of Kelowna.
This is the Edmonton Riverhawks’ first-ever trip to Wenatchee. The AppleSox and the Riverhawks squared off in Edmonton earlier this summer as the calendar flipped from June to July. Wenatchee took two-of-three games on the road and lead the all-time two-year series, 4-2. Ryan Martinez, who starts tomorrow, tossed 6.2 strong innings with only two runs allowed in a 12-3 series-opener on June 30 and Nick Putnam drove in four runs in a 12-4 win on July 2. The Riverhawks scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning on Canada Day in between and cruised to an 11-2 victory as they recorded 19 hits in front of a crowd of 6,761.
Edmonton (14-30, 4-13 second half) are 5.5 games out of first place in the second half with nine games to go. They only way that they can make the postseason is by winning the second half, but they will have to leapfrog the five teams ahead of them.
The Riverhawks enter Friday night on a four-game winning streak that just included a four-game sweep of Port Angeles. Edmonton scored a season-high 16 runs on Wednesday as Jonny McGill and Mark Ossanna both recorded three-hit games in the win. The bulk of their damage came late in the game as they scored nine runs over the final two innings.
The remaining schedule for both teams has its challenges as they both looks to earn postseason berths. Edmonton returns home to host Port Angeles this Tuesday before wrapping up the regular season against Edmonton Aug. 4-6. Wenatchee ends the regular season on a six-game road trip with stops in Bellingham and Kelowna. The WCL Playoffs begin on Aug. 8 with the best-of-three Division Series. The Division Championship Games are Aug. 12 with the WCL Championship Game on Aug. 14.
Trei Hough makes his first start of the summer tonight in his third appearance with the AppleSox. He last pitched on Sunday, entering with runners at first and third and one out in the top of the fifth with the AppleSox ahead by one run. Hough stranded both runners and Wenatchee scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to get some breathing room before allowing an unearned run the next inning. He made his summer debut on July 19 with two scoreless innings of relief against Bend. The right-hander from the University of Jamestown is 1-0 with four strikeouts, two walks, three hits and no earned runs given up in 3.2 innings.
Jack Bolt starts the series opener for the Riverhawks. The incoming junior at UC Santa Barbara has a 13.50 ERA with five strikeouts, eight walks and five hits over four innings in three games (one start). He was removed in the first inning of his first start on June 28 after giving up three runs on two hits, three walks and only recording one out against Bellingham. It has been exactly a month since he last pitched.
This final home series of the regular season is Aloha Weekend. The AppleSox will be giving away a free trip to Hawaii tomorrow night to one lucky fan in attendance thanks in part to Sunny FM and Journey Travel & Tours. Tonight the team will be holding a kids hula hoop contest and the winner will receive a bat signed by the entire AppleSox team. Tonight’s game is being sponsored by Confluence Health and tickets can be purchased at applesox.com/2023-schedule.
Fans can tune in to the action tonight and all season long on KCSY Sunny FM. Pregame coverage presented by Kenady Real Estate Group 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 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
All West Coast League games are video broadcast on wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv. Tonight’s game can also be watched on the NCWLIFE Channel, their Facebook page or ncwlife.com.
Listen to the latest edition of the AppleSox Podcast below to hear a recap of last night’s game, highlights and the pregame interview with Easton Amundson. Subscribe to the AppleSox Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
