AppleSox Face Pickles In WCL Championship Game Tonight
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WEST COAST LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
SINGLE ELIMINATION
First Pitch: 7:15 p.m.
Park: Walker Stadium
Watch: wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv or ncwlife.com
Listen: kcsyfm.com
GAME NOTES
Wenatchee Probable Pitcher: Garrett Ahern get his second start of the postseason after recording a season-high six innings and nine strikeouts at Victoria in Game 1 of the North Division Series last Saturday... The 2024 WCL All-Star went 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA, 31 strikeouts, 10 walks and 31 hits over 33 innings in eight starts in the regular season… The AppleSox have won seven-of-nine games that Ahern has pitched in... The incoming sophomore at Grand Canyon has allowed three runs or less in all but one outing this summer...
Portland Probable Pitcher: Freddy Rodriguez appears in his eighth game of the summer and his second of the playoffs after also pitching in Game 1 of the Division Series last Saturday… He allowed two runs (one earned) over seven innings against Bend to earn his seventh win of the summer... Rodriguez went 6-0 with a 1.02 ERA, 54 strikeouts, 16 walks and 22 hits over 44 innings in the regular season... The incoming sophomore at Hawaii tossed at least five innings and punched out a minimum of five hitters in every outing...
North Division Champs: The AppleSox are division champions for the first time since 2013... Wenatchee locked up its ninth division crown with a 1-0 win over Bellingham Wednesday... Evan Canfield struck out four over seven scoreless innings and Max Hartman doubled in the game’s only run in the third... Wenatchee is appearing in the WCL Championship for the first time since 2013 and is looking to win its first title since 2012... A win tonight would be the AppleSox’ seventh league championship (2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012) and sixth West Coast League Championship...
The Pickles: Swept the Bend Elks in the South Division Series last weekend and defeated the Corvallis Knights, , Wednesday in the South Division Championship Game... Ended the Knights’ seven-year championship streak Wednesday at Goss Stadium... Recorded the second-best record in the regular season at 40-14... Are appearing in their first WCL Championship since joining the league in 2018...
Former Pickles: Evan Cloyd and Cooper Whitton match up against their former team for the first time tonight on a huge stage... Cloyd played for the Pickles in each of the previous two summers before joining the AppleSox this season... He hit .263 with 15 extra-base hits and 27 RBI in 38 games last year after a .300 average, one home run and 13 RBI in 27 games in 2022… Whitton appeared in 12 games in Portland last summer and then being picked up by the AppleSox... He homered in his first game with Wenatchee but only played four more games before being injured...
Championship History: Wenatchee is appearing in a league championship/game for the ninth time in its 24-season history... Wenatchee appeared in the previous best-of-three WCL Championship Series in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013... The last time that the AppleSox appeared in a singular league championship game was 2003 when it defeated the Seattle Studs, 8-7, to win the Pacific International League... Wenatchee’s five WCL Championships are second-most in the league...
Pitcher Of The Week: Quincy Vassar’s complete-game effort in Game 2 of the North Division Series last Sunday vs. Victoria earned him the latest WCL Pitcher of the Week honor… He tossed 118 pitches and only allowed one run while striking out eight HarbourCats… The 2024 WCL All-Star 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 in his third season with the AppleSox and is the franchise leader in regular season innings (131.2) and strikeouts (125)… He has only allowed three runs over his last 27 innings on the bump… Vassar is the third AppleSox player to earn a WCL weekly honor this summer, joining Max Hartman (May. 31-June 2) and Evan Canfield (June 10-16)…
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...
