AppleSox Return Home, Look To Even Series
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GAME 2 - NORTH DIVISION SERIES
Victoria leads, 1-0
First Pitch: 6:35 p.m.
Park: Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium
Tickets: applesox.com/schedule
Watch: wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv or ncwlife.com
Listen: kcsyfm.com
Wenatchee Probable Pitcher: Quincy Vassar gets the ball for his second career postseason start tonight… The southpaw from Brewster is coming off an All-Star campaign in which he went 4-3 with a 2.91 ERA, 38 strikeouts, 14 walks and 47 hits over 49.1 innings in 10 games (nine starts)… Vassar is the AppleSox’ all-time leader in innings and strikeouts and also has only allowed two runs over his last 18 innings on the bump… He previously pitched in the postseason in Game 2 of the North Division Series in 2022, helping the AppleSox advance to the North Division Championship Game with two runs (one earned) given up over seven innings on six hits, one walk and eight strikeouts on Aug. 10 two summers ago…
Victoria Probable Pitcher: Payton Hawkinson takes on the AppleSox for a third time this summer and makes his 10th overall appearance… The freshman at Cal State Fullerton started seven games this summer and went 1-3 with a 5.99 ERA, 20 strikeouts, 13 walks and 27 hits over 27.1 innings… He previously surrendered six runs in 2.1 innings at Wenatchee July 4 and one run in an inning of relief June 8 vs. the AppleSox at Royal Athletic Park… Hawkinson has surrendered at least four runs three times and lost all three outings…
Last Night: The HarbourCats walked off Wenatchee in Game 1 on a two-out, two-run home run from Kerim Orusevic in the bottom of the ninth to win, 4-2, last night at Serauxmen Stadium… The AppleSox have never won any of their previous six playoff series when dropping Game 1…
Facing Elimination: The AppleSox must win tonight to keep their season alive in the best-of-three North Division Series… Wenatchee will need to win four consecutive elimination games in order to win the WCL Championship… Road teams to lose Game 1 of the North Division Series since 2016 are 3-2 in Game 2… That includes 2019, when the HarbourCats dropped Game 1 at Wenatchee before winning the next two games and the series at home…
Strikeouts: The AppleSox punched out a season-high 15 times last night… Victoria starter Carson Cormier struck out eight hitters over four shutout innings, including each of the first six AppleSox to step to the plate… Wenatchee struck out the second-fewest times this regular season (339) of the 16 WCL teams… Garrett Ahern punched out nine batters over six innings to set season-highs in both categories… Evan Canfield followed with five strikeouts in 2.2 innings…
Mad Max: Max Hartman reached base three times last night while recording his fourth consecutive multi-hit game… He picked up two singles and drew a walk while also hitting a hard line out to second… Hartman recorded 17 multi-hit games in the regular season, including five consecutive to open the summer to become the first AppleSox player to ever achieve that feat… The incoming junior at Washington State is batting .562 (9-for-16) over the last four games with six runs, five walks and two stolen bases… Hartman scored 51 runs in the regular season to tie Portland’s Tanner Griffith for the WCL lead, marking the third straight season that an AppleSox hitter led or tied for the most runs scored…
Two-Out Larson: Jake Larson drove in both of Wenatchee’s runs last night with a two-out RBI single in the eighth… It marked Larson’s fourth two-out RBI base hit of the week after two in his first two at-bats on Thursday and another one in the first inning the day prior at Bend… Larson finished the regular season hitting .417 (5-for-12) with 7 RBI in two-out runners in scoring position opportunities… As a team, the AppleSox hit .249 with 101 RBI over 317 at-bats in two-out opportunities with runners in scoring position in the regular season…
Back In The Playoffs: This is the third consecutive season that the AppleSox have qualified for the WCL Postseason and the fourth time in the last five seasons… Wenatchee has made the playoffs in 16-of-its-24 seasons and is looking to win its seventh league championship this summer… The AppleSox won the Pacific International League crown in 2003 before winning the WCL title in 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2012… Head coach Mitch Darlington has qualified for the playoffs in all three seasons at the helm and his 99 regular-season victories are second-most in franchise history…
First Half and Second Half Champs: The AppleSox earned the top record in the North Division overall, in the first half and in the second half… The AppleSox went 17-10 in the second half and won the first half with an 18-9 mark… The AppleSox and the Riverhawks both finished with 18-9 records in the first half but Wenatchee (+37) held a better run differential (+35)… Wenatchee’s 35-19 overall record was third-best in the WCL behind Corvallis (41-13) and Portland (40-14)… Wenatchee ensured that it will host the North Division Championship Game on Aug. 14 if it advances that far…
30 Wins: For the second straight season and for the sixth time in franchise history the AppleSox have earned at least 30 wins in a season... It’s the first time that Wenatchee has hit 30 victories in back-to-back summers since 2011-12...
