Finishing Strong

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WENATCHEE, Wash. – The Wenatchee AppleSox (12-6, 9-6) continued their late-series winning ways on Sunday night, as they took down the Walla Walla Sweets (6-9) by a score of 7-3 at Paul Thomas Sr. Field.

Ty Jackson drove home the AppleSox first run in the first inning on a hard-hit ground ball up the middle of the field.

In the fourth, Caleb Wood continued the great start to his season by breaking the tie with a lead-off solo home run to left field. He went 3-3 on Sunday with a walk and was hit by a pitch.

The AppleSox continued to score 5 more runs after Wood’s solo blast. Nick Brooks hit a 2 RBI single with the bases loaded to help the AppleSox to the 7-1 advantage at the end of the fourth.

Drew Rasmussen powered through the fifth inning to earn the winning decision.

Hunter Wells offered four innings of strong pitching out of the bullpen. He faltered a bit at the end as his pitch count continued to rise. However, Wells finished the game, while working out of the ninth inning jam.

The AppleSox are now 4-1 in the rubber match of each of their West Coast League match-ups this year.

A new three game series starts Monday as the Corvallis Knights come to town. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.                                       

 

WW    1 0 0   0 0 0   0 0 2      3  9  1

WEN   1 0 0   6 0 0   0 0 x      7 15 2

 

WP – Drew Rasmussen

LP – Cody Carroll

S – Hunter Wells

AppleSox Buckle Up Sweets

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WENATCHEE, Wash. – The Wenatchee AppleSox (11-6, 8-6) were led by a strong outing from their starter, Ian Buckles, for the third time on this young season, as they knocked off the Walla Walla Sweets (6-8) five to one on Saturday night.

The AppleSox scored two runs in the third inning and three runs in the fourth, to total their five. Mike Livingston led off the third with a single and later came around to score on a Sam Brown RBI double to left center field. Joe Gillette was brought around to score later in the inning on a Ty Jackson single to left field.

In the fourth, a pair of walks started things for Simon Rosenbaum, John Brontsema and the AppleSox. Nate Esposito then was rewarded second on a throwing error created on a sacrifice bunt attempt. The error sored Rosenbaum and placed Brontsema on third. Mike Livingston grounded out to second to score Brontsema and Tyler Frost brought home Esposito, making the score 5-0, AppleSox.

Buckles was rolling from the start on Saturday. He retired the first five batters that he faced and only allowed one hit in the second and another in the third. Both were infield singles for the Sweets.

Buckles then continued to throw four and a third innings of no-hit, scoreless baseball. He accumulated four strikeouts and only walked two batters.

Calvin LeBrun entered the game in the eighth inning to relieve Buckles. He struck out the side in the eighth and allowed one earned run in the ninth after loading the bases with nobody out.

The game ended on a 9-5-3 double play, in which Cooper Elliott tracked down a fly ball in right field foul territory and Aldo Ferrante was doubled up on the base path after a base running miscommunication sent Cooper Hummel in motion and left Ferrante out to dry.

The series concludes on Sunday night, which is Cashmere Night at Paul Thomas Sr. Field. First pitch for the rubber match of the set is slated for 6:05 p.m.                                      

 

WW    0 0 0   0 0 0   0 0 1      1 4 1

WEN   0 0 2   3 0 0   0 0 x      5 7 2

 

WP – Ian Buckles

LP – Chris Kerwood

S –

Sweets Take First In Series

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WENATCHEE, Wash. – The Walla Walla Sweets (6-7) blew open Friday night’s contest in the eighth inning, as nine runs came home to score and turned a 5-4 game into a 14-4 lead over the Wenatchee AppleSox (10-6, 7-6). The game ended 15-5 in favor of the Sweets.

The AppleSox opened Friday’s scoring with a two-run double to center field off the bat of Ty Jackson. It was Jackson’s seventh of the season.

Jackson also scored a run when Joe Gillette connected on his first RBI single of the 2014 season down the left field line.

The game went back and forth through the first five innings and was tied headed to the sixth inning. Mark Contreras broke the tie with a solo home run to right field to start the inning. Jarod Gonzales and JJ Robinson also each added a home run to Friday’s scoring effort.

Colton Loomis pitched in relief of Tom Zarosinski who left the game shortly after being hit by a hard line drive single up the middle of the field.

Jacob Schroeder and Mike Livingston relieved Loomis. Both Schroeder and Livingston each gave up a home run, like Loomis.

Tyler Frost singled home the fifth run of the game for the AppleSox in the eighth.

Tonight, the AppleSox continue the series. Ian Buckles will take the mound and is undefeated on the season. In 2014, the AppleSox are also undefeated in game two of a league series in which they drop the first match up.

First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

                                             

 

WW    0 0 0   2 2 1   0 9 1     15 18 2

WEN   2 0 0   1 1 0   0 1 0      5  12 5

 

WP – Conner O’Neil

LP – Colton Loomis

S –

Home Divisional Schedule Opens With Sweets

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AppleSox and Sweets Series Notes

The Wenatchee AppleSox (10-5, 7-5) return home to tangle with the Walla Walla Sweets (5-7) in a three game weekend series at Paul Thomas Sr. Field. The series marks the AppleSox first divisional matchup at home in 2014. The AppleSox are entering their 15th season (10th in the WCL) and are 472-255(.651) under skipper Ed Knaggs, who is in his 14th season as head coach of the AppleSox club.T he AppleSox have achieved a winning record in all 14 seasons during Knaggs’ tenure. Knaggs is assisted by AJ Proszek and Jason Krohn.


The three game series with the Sweets will have live stats for all games provided by pointstreak.com. All games will have live radio coverage on KCSY Sunny 93.9 FM in Wenatchee and on various translators throughout North Central Washington (Lake Chelan Valley 95.3 FM, Okanogan Valley 101.9 FM, Methow Valley [Twisp-Winthrop] 106.3 FM)...audio is also available at applesox.com/listen-live. AppleSox play by play broadcaster Trevor Williams will call the action. Pregame shows for Friday and Saturday’s games start at 6:45 pm...Sunday’s broadcast starts with a pregame show at 5:45 p.m. KWCC-TV (LocalTel cable channel 12 or Charter cable channel 19) will televise games, allowing fans to hear the Sunny FM radio broadcast and simultaneously watch the animated playbook provided by pointstreak. AppleSox Baseball provides updates on Twitter on @AppleSox, on Facebook (Wenatchee AppleSox) and via Instagram by searching: AppleSox.

Wenatchee Wins Series

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KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – After a tough offensive outing Wednesday, the Wenatchee AppleSox (10-5, 7-5) exercised their demons in a 17-4 win over the Klamath Falls Gems (3-9), Thursday night.

Caleb Wood led the AppleSox offensively Thursday, going 5-6 with three RBIs and a run scored. He elevated his team-leading average to .468 by the end of the series finale.

The scoring for the AppleSox started in the second inning as they brought home three runs. One scored on a bases loaded walk, a Mike Livingston single and a wild pitch by starter Garrett Sumpter.

Klamath Falls made it a game in the bottom of the second, coming up with two runs spurred by a Connor Counce solo home run. It was his second blast of the season.

The Sox opened the game up in the middle third, scoring four runs in the fourth and fifth innings, while adding another two in the sixth. The Gems countered with one run in the seventh, but the AppleSox added four more in the top of the eighth to bring their run total to 17.

Michael McCann was another offensive star, going 4-6 with 2 RBIs and Cooper Elliott, Nate Esposito, and Mike Livingston combined for six hits in the bottom third of the order.

Griffin Canning looked strong throughout, despite his minor hiccup in the second.

Clark McKitrick posted three innings in relief of Canning. He gave up a solo home run to Jay Anderson. The shot to center field was his first of the season. McKitrick came back to post a zero in the ninth and earned the save for the Sox.

Tonight the AppleSox are back in town to face the Walla Walla Sweets. The series begins when Tom Zarosinski tosses the first pitch of the set at 7:05 p.m.                                    

 

WEN   0 3 0   4 4 2   0 4 0     17 18 3

MED   0 2 0   0 0 0   1 1 0      4   8  3

 

WP – Griffin Canning

LP – Garrett Sumpter

S – Clark McKitrick

Sox Pitch a Gem

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KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Strong pitching led the Wenatchee AppleSox (9-5, 6-5) to a 2-1 win on Wednesday night against the Klamath Falls Gems (3-8).

The AppleSox scored two runs for their starter Brandon Bailey in the second inning of Wednesday’s contest.

With the bases loaded, Mike Livingston came home to score when Sam Brooks worked a walk. Cooper Elliott scored during Caleb Wood’s at bat when Wood sent a ball on the left side of the infield and it was misplayed by the Gems’ third baseman. Brown was thrown out between second and third after thinking that Tyler Frost was going to round third to score on the fielding error behind Elliott.

The Gems tallied their only run of the game in the third inning, when Thomas Walker brought home John Williams via a hard-hit single to left field.

The AppleSox bullpen took over in the fourth inning to back up Bailey. He will be on a limited pitch count all summer, following his long season with Gonzaga and 2013 Tommy John surgery.

Nathan Hadley and John Pomeroy made their first appearances of the WCL season. Hadley threw two and a thirds innings of one-hit baseball. Pomeroy followed with one and two thirds innings of his own on the mound in which he hit 98 on the radar gun and worked out of a bases loaded jam in the seventh.

Trenton Brooks recorded the final out of the eighth and retired the Gems in the ninth, even after walking the tying run and hitting the winning run and placing them aboard. He got Brett Cumberland to ground out to second base to end the game and recorded his first save of 2014.

The series with Klamath Falls concludes tonight at 6:35 p.m. It is the rubber match of the three game series.                                        

 

WEN   0 2 0   0 0 0   0 0 0      2   3  4

MED   0 0 1   0 0 0   0 0 0      1   6  2

 

WP – Nathan Hadley

LP – Jordan Kron

S – Trenton Brooks

Sox Drop First To Gems

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KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The Wenatchee AppleSox (8-5, 5-5) dropped the series opener to the Klamath Falls Gems (3-7) on Tuesday, 10-8.

Things got off to a great start in game one of the series. The AppleSox plated three runs on a bases clearing three RBI double to right center field by Michael McCann.

In the bottom of the first, a fielding error extended an inning that would’ve left the AppleSox on top of the scoreboard at 3-1. Instead, Klamath Falls scored two more runs to even the score at three.

The Sox scored one run in the top of the second. Klamath Falls countered with four of their own in the bottom of the second, making the score 7-4.

Things held until the seventh inning, when the AppleSox scored three more runs to even the score at seven. Michael McCann got the three-run, two out, rally started with a double down the left field line. Caleb Wood also had an outstanding night from the plate. He went 4-4 and was hit by a pitch in the first inning.

Klamath Falls scored three more runs in the bottom half of the inning, which started with another fielding error. It was one of four that the AppleSox had on Tuesday.

Tyler Frost surrendered the runs in relief and lost his first game of 2014. The Gems were led by Thomas Walker, who went 3-5 and came around to score each of the three times he was on base.

The series with Klamath Falls continues tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. In 2014, the AppleSox have still never lost the second game of a league series after dropping the first.                                 

 

WEN   3 1 0   0 0 0   3 1 0     10 15  4

MED   3 4 0   0 0 0   3 0 x      8  12  2

 

WP – Kody Kuhlman

LP – Tyler Frost

S –

Blaine Hardy Becomes Sixth AppleSox Player in MLB

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Former AppleSox pitcher (’06), Blaine Hardy, made his MLB debut on Monday night for the Detroit Tigers. With the appearance, Hardy becomes the sixth AppleSox player to make it to the professional level.

Hardy threw for two innings out of the bullpen on Monday against the Royals and only allowed one hit while keeping the Kansas City squad scoreless. He also struck out two batters.

Hardy is from Edmonds-Woodway High School in Edmonds, Washington and played college baseball at Lewis-Clark State College.

The Kansas City Royals made Hardy a part of their organization in 2008, when they took him with a 22nd round pick in that years’ draft.

He was later released by the Royals during the 2013 spring training camp. The southpaw got his second opportunity when the Tigers picked him up in April of 2013. He started with the AA affiliate Erie Seawolves.

He eventually worked up to play for the AAA Toledo Mud Hens, where he stayed until being called up to the Tigers roster two days ago.

In his first major league start, he got to face the same Kansas City Royals team that released him a little over a year ago. In his first appearance he was strong, getting out of a first and third jam while in relief of Justin Verlander.

“As a young pitcher, Blaine was a guy that was athletic and had good stuff,” said the head coach of the AppleSox Ed Knaggs. “He just kept playing and playing and playing to work his way to the bigs. He had size and he wasn’t a soft left-hander by any stretch. He was like a lot of our guys just trying to find his way and had a lot of good tools to work with. For him, I’m sure his ability to hang in there and persevere has to be his story.”

Road Trip Continues at Klamath Falls

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APPLESOX SERIES NOTES vs. KLAMATH FALLS

The Wenatchee AppleSox (8-4, 5-4) face the Klamath Falls Gems (2-7) in a three game series from Tuesday June 17th to Thursday June 19th. The three game series is the AppleSox third league series on the season. The AppleSox are entering their 15th season (10th in the WCL) and are 471-253(.651) under skipper Ed Knaggs, who is in his 14th season as head coach of the AppleSox club. The AppleSox have achieved a winning record in all 14 seasons during Knaggs’ tenure. Knaggs is assisted by AJ Proszek and Jason Krohn.

The three game series with the Gems will have live stats for all games provided by pointstreak.com. All games will have live radio coverage on KCSY Sunny 93.9 FM in Wenatchee and on various translators throughout North Central Washington (Lake Chelan Valley 95.3 FM, Okanogan Valley 101.9 FM, Methow Valley [Twisp-Winthrop] 106.3 FM)...audio is also available at applesox.com/listen-live. AppleSox play by play broadcaster Trevor Williams will call the action. Pregame shows for all three games start at 6:15 pm. KWCC-TV (LocalTel cable channel 12 or Charter cable channel 19) will televise games, allowing fans to hear the Sunny FM radio broadcast and simultaneously watch the animated playbook provided by pointstreak. AppleSox Baseball provides updates on Twitter on @AppleSox and via Instagram by searching: AppleSox.

Rogues Take Series From Sox

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MEDFORD, Ore. – For the first time in 2014, the Wenatchee AppleSox (8-4, 5-4) dropped a series, as the Medford Rogues (7-3) won Monday afternoon’s contest 7-2.

The Rogues picked up a first inning run off of starter Drew Rasmussen, as Yuto Kata came around to score on a Tanner Lubach ground out in the infield.

In the top half of the third, Wenatchee evened things off of Nathan Kuchta and the Rogues. Cooper Elliott led off the frame with a ground rule double down the left field line. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and Mike Livingston drove him home on a hard hit RBI single up the middle.

The tie was short lived, Monday. The Rogues came back to score four in the bottom of the third and never looked back, as the tacked on two more in the fifth.

The AppleSox only other run was started in the seventh off another lead off hit for Elliott. He singled this time, followed by a Nate Esposito single and a Livingston walk. Sam Brown knocked in Elliott on a fielder’s choice play at first base.  

Griffin Canning and Caleb Wood turned in solid performances for Wenatchee. Wood was 3-5 on Monday and Canning retired the side one-two-three in his only inning of work out of the bullpen.

The AppleSox will make a short trip to Klamath Falls on Tuesday to start a three game series. Ty Jackson will take the mound in game one of the three game set. First pitch is set for 6:35 pm.                                      

 

WEN   0 0 1   0 0 0   1 0 0      2   8   0

MED   1 0 4   0 2 0   0 0 0      7  12  0

 

WP – Nathan Kuchta

LP – Drew Rasmussen

S –

Evening Things

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MEDFORD, Ore. – The Wenatchee AppleSox (8-3, 5-3) won their third consecutive WCL series game two on Sunday, defeating the Medford Rogues (6-3) 3-2.

The AppleSox took advantage of an early error by the Rogues in center field as Trenton Brooks got to second base with two outs in the top half of the first. Michael McCann, who made his second appearance with the club (this time as the designated hitter) singled home Brooks to get things started later in the half inning, following a Ty Jackson walk.

From there, the Sox turned things over to starter Ian Buckles. Buckles said hello and goodbye to the first seven batters that he faced Sunday and retired the side one-two-three in four of his first five innings.

He allowed just one hit through the first five innings of play. The lone run up to that point was manufactured when Adonis Morrison led off his 2014 WCL season with a double down the left field line and came around to score on a fielder’s choice ground out.

That score came in the third for the Rogues, however the AppleSox quickly erased the tie in the top of the fourth. Tanner Nishioka started the inning with a bunt single and was later brought around to score on a Tyler Frost sacrifice fly.

Another run was added in the fifth after Sam Brown led off the inning with a hard single up the middle. McCann later singled him home on a bunt play, originally intended to be a sacrifice, which McCann ended up beating up the line.

In the sixth, Brown’s presence was felt again defensively as he made a diving catch in center to preserve Buckles’ 3-2 lead. The web gem went alongside a beautiful catch in the hole on the left side of the infield, corralled by Nishioka earlier in the game.

Calvin LeBrun took over in the seventh, and while the Rogues got runners to the corner in the eighth with just one out, LeBrun and new catcher Nate Esposito dialed up a double play ball to Nishioka, Caleb Wood and Simon Rosenbaum to get out of the jam.  

In the ninth, LeBrun retired the side one-two-three with a lead off strikeout, a pop up, and a ground out, to secure the win and pick up his first save of the season.

The series concludes with a matinee game three tomorrow at noon.                                             

WEN   1 0 0   1 1 0   0 0 0      3   8   0

MED   0 0 1   0 0 1   0 0 0      2   6   1

 

WP – Ian Buckles

LP – Brandon Erickson

S –  Calvin LeBrun