Wenatchee Has Lead for Playoff Berth After Sunday Win in Edmonton
Joel Norman AppleSox Media
The Wenatchee AppleSox earned another series victory thanks to a 12-4 win over the Edmonton Riverhawks on Sunday afternoon at RE/MAX Field.
Wenatchee (18-6) scored eight runs in the third inning and never looked back from there. They only collected three hits in the inning but all directly produced runs as Austin Ohland and Mason Strong produced RBI singles and Nick Putnam hit a 3-RBI double in between. Putnam led all AppleSox hitters with 4 RBI by adding an RBI double in the ninth.
Samuel Round (1-0) allowed two runs over four innings in his first start in West Coast League action before Jadon Williams only gave up two unearned runs and struck out five over the final five innings.
Putnam drove in the most runs but the AppleSox got performances from all throughout their lineup. Strong recorded his second consecutive multi-hit game with a 2-for-5 day and hit .384 (5-for-13) in the series. Frankie Carney drew three of Wenatchee’s eight walks and scored multiple runs in a game for the seventh time this summer. Reeve Boyd also drew a pair of walks and collected two hits en route to scoring a team-high three runs. Izzy Lopez collected two hits and manufactured a run all on his own when he scored after a wild pitch and two balks following his two-out single in the fifth.
With the win and Bellingham’s loss to Victoria, the AppleSox sit a full game ahead of the Bells for first place in the North Division. The HarbourCats concluded their first half on Sunday and finished 19-8. One win would tie the AppleSox with them and Wenatchee would hold the tiebreaker due to sweeping a series against Victoria June 7-9. Bellingham, like Wenatchee, concludes the first half on Thursday. If the AppleSox match or best the number of wins that the Bells get in the next three games, then Wenatchee will win the North Division’s First Half title and clinch a postseason berth.
The AppleSox return home Monday night to host the DubSea Fish Sticks for Fireworks Night presented by Kenady Real Estate Group. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. with a fireworks show to follow. Tickets can be purchased now at applesox.com/2023-schedule.