Wenatchee Tops Redmond, Head North to BC

JOEL NORMAN

APPLESOX MEDIA

Mason Strong finished a triple away from hitting for the cycle and Nick Putnam drove in two runs as the Wenatchee AppleSox defeated the Redmond Dudes, 10-6, on Monday night at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium.

Six of the AppleSox’ nine batters had joined the team in the last four days and many of them made an impact against Redmond. Putnam picked up an RBI single in the first inning in his first at-bat of the summer before adding another RBI single in the seventh. Strong doubled in a pair of runs in the first before adding a single in the second and a triple in the seventh in his third game played for the AppleSox.

Trent Liolios joined the AppleSox as an infielder on Friday but got it done as a two-way player on Monday. The incoming sophomore at Northwestern went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run before tossing a scoreless eighth and ninth. Liolios, who did not pitch this spring at Northwestern, struck out one, allowed three hits and did not walk anyone.

The AppleSox trailed on two different occasions after allowing a run in the top of the first and then two runs in the top of the fourth to break a 3-3 tie. Neither deficit lasted as Wenatchee scored multiple runs in four different frames, including a three-run first inning and a three-run seventh.

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The Wenatchee AppleSox make their first road trip north of the border as they face the Kamloops NorthPaws tonight at 6:35 at Norbrock Stadium. The AppleSox and the NorthPaws are off to very different starts to the summer with Wenatchee sitting a half-a-game out of first place in the North while Kamloops is in last place. The AppleSox won their fourth series of the summer by taking two-of-three from Kelowna this past weekend while Kamloops dropped to seven games out of first place by being swept by Port Angeles.

Wenatchee wrapped up its homestand with a non-league victory on Monday over the Redmond Dudes to produce a 3-1 effort in a four-game stretch at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. A few newcomers got to make their mark in their first game with the team as Nick Putnam led the newcomers with two different RBI singles. two different RBI singles. Josh Williams and MJ Sweeney also collected hits in their first game with the AppleSox.

Easton Amundson and Brandham Ponce both got well deserved days off on Monday. Amundson has played in all but one of the AppleSox' first 15 games in WCL play and leads the league with five home runs, 17 RBI and a .707 slugging percentage while his 18 runs and two triples are tied for the most in the league. Amundson’s 1.115 leads all WCL players with at least 50 plate appearances. He was named WCL Player of the Week on Monday after batting .291 (7-for-24) with a double, two triples, three home runs and 10 RBI in six games last week.

Ponce isn't far behind Amundson in terms of production and has regularly batted after Amundson, giving the AppleSox arguably the best combination of a no. 3 hitter and a cleanup hitter in the WCL. He arrived in Wenatchee on June 6 and has appeared in every league game since then. Ponce is on a 10-game hitting streak and is feasting on right-handed pitching, holding a .429 batting average (12-for-28) through 11 games. He has 15 RBI and is the only other AppleSox player with double-digit runs driven in besides Amundson.

Quincy Vassar makes his third start of the summer for the AppleSox in the series opener. Vassar last faced the NorthPaws on Aug. 10, 2022, in game 2 of the North Division Series as the AppleSox defeated the NorthPaws, 17-2, at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium to sweep the first-round matchup. Vassar matched his season high with eight strikeouts while allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and one walk in seven innings. The Brewster native is 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in two games this summer and is coming off allowing two runs in five innings a week ago against the Springfield Drifters. Vassar has walked at least four hitters in each of his first two games after issuing three free passes once in 10 games last summer.

Kamloops has not announced a probable pitcher.

Fans can tune in to the action tonight and all season long on KCSY Sunny FM. Pregame coverage begins at 6:10 p.m. You can listen online worldwide at kcsyfm.com, the TuneIn radio app or on one of the following translators.