Hoiland Does It All, AppleSox Eliminate Victoria

Cam Hoiland allowed one run over 5.1 innings on the mound and hit a go-ahead home run in the fifth to give the Wenatchee AppleSox a 7-2 win over the Victoria HarbourCats in Game 3 of the North Division Series Monday night at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium.

The win advances the AppleSox to the North Division Championship Game on Wednesday night. Wenatchee will host the Bellingham Bells at 6:35 at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. The winner will advance to face the winner of the Corvallis Knights vs. the Portland Pickles in the South Division Championship Game, which will take place Wednesday at Goss Stadium.

Hoiland homered for a second straight game and drove in four runs over two games vs. Victoria. He kept the HarbourCats bats at bay by inducing inning-ending double plays in each of the first two innings. Hoiland gave up the game’s first run in the top of the fourth but stranded two men in the fifth with a strikeout.

The incoming senior stepped to the plate with the game tied and one out in the second before launching a 1-2 pitch 410 feet to center for the longest home run by an AppleSox player this summer. That blast opened the floodgates as Wenatchee scored four more runs via an RBI double from Cooper Whitton, a two-run double by James Castagnola and an RBI single from Jonathan Fitz.

The turning point in the five-run fifth came two batters after Hoiland’s blast. With Kanoa Morisaki at first following a single, Max Hartman grounded a pitch to second that looked like a potential double play. Second baseman Kerim Orusevic fielded the ball and tried to tag Morisaki as he ran to second, but ball ricocheted out of Orusevic’s glove upon contact and into right field to allow Morisaki to reach third and Hartman to get to second.

The AppleSox did not score again until the eighth when Hunter Friedberg hit an opposite-field single for his third RBI of the postseason. Jonathan Fitz hit a long fly ball to right field that outfielder Sky Collins dropped on the warning track right as the wind was picking up.

Andrew Monson entered in the sixth with one out and a runner on second but stranded the runner and finished the game. He gave up one run in the ninth but slammed the door shut with 3.2 innings to earn the save.

The AppleSox advanced by winning each of the final two games of the series. Victoria claimed Game 1 on Saturday with a 4-2 walkoff victory before Wenatchee’s 9-1 win on Sunday and 7-2 triumph Monday. The AppleSox are playing in the North Division Championship Game for the second time in three seasons under head coach Mitch Darlington, who has now won two-of-three North Division Series in his tenure.

Wenatchee has Tuesday off before hosting its final home game Wednesday night. Tickets are half off using the code 5050 at checkout and are available now at AppleSox.com/schedule