AppleSox Look To Take Series On $2 Off Tuesday

First Pitch: 6:35 p.m.
Park: Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium
Tickets: applesox.com/schedule
Watch: wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv
Listen: kcsyfm.com


GAME NOTES

Wenatchee Probable Pitcher: Hunter Gibson makes his first start in his third summer with the AppleSox. The right-hander from Northern Colorado is 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA in 13 games (four starts) over the previous two seasons. He was dominant last summer, firing at least 5.1 innings in all three starts and only allowing two runs. Gibson struck out six over six scoreless innings against the Falcons last year on June 18.

Kelowna Probable Pitcher: Southpaw Gus McKay looks to continue his dominant work after only allowing two earned runs in 17 innings through his first four outings. He has struck out 13, walked six and allowed nine hits while starting in three-of-his-four games. McKay tossed six shutout innings against Edmonton last Wednesday to earn his first win of the summer.

Last Night: The AppleSox earned their sixth consecutive win against a North Division team with an 11-3 victory against Kelowna. Wenatchee raced out to a 7-0 lead after three innings and scored in all but three innings. The AppleSox moved a game ahead of the idle Edmonton Riverhawks for first place with five games remaining in the first half.

Strong Start: The AppleSox have been potent in the first inning over the last four games after it proved to their downfall last week. Wenatchee was outscored 11-0 in the first inning of a three-game series against Yakima Valley but has since scored 10 runs while giving up one in the opening frame over the last four games. Overall, Wenatchee is being outscored 18-17 in the first inning.

Big Fly Benavidez: Kade Benavidez drove in five runs last night, three of which came on a home run in the bottom of the eighth. Benavidez has driven in five runs in both of the games this season in which he homered, with the other coming on June 2 vs. Port Angeles. He leads the WCL with 21 RBI, 22 walks and is tied for first eight hit by pitches. Benavidez is hitting .324 with 15 RBI in 10 games at home.

Castagnola Next In Line: Infielder James Castagnola becomes the third infielder from UC Irvine in as many seasons to join the AppleSox and he has quite a set of players to follow up. Joichiro Oyama won WCL co-MVP in 2022 prior to his junior year at UC Irvine after breaking WCL records for runs (54) and stolen bases (42) while also hitting .339 and appearing in all 54 games. Oyama is the franchise single-season leader in plate appearances (276), runs, stolen bases and walks (42) while also tying for the single-season record for triples (6). Frankie Carney redshirted with the Anteaters in 2023 and then went on to earn First Team All-WCL honors with the AppleSox by hitting .356 in 42 games, for the second-best batting average in the WCL. It also tied with UC Irvine alum Keston Hiura for the third-best ever by an AppleSox hitter to play at least 40 regular-season games.

Tidy Baseball: Last night was the AppleSox’ first game without an error since last Thursday. Wenatchee improved to 5-1 when it does not commit a miscue but is second in the WCL with 34 errors.