Sunday, June 19, 2011

That was quick...

The Walla Walla Sweets and Wenatchee Applesox must have known that the rain was coming.  W2 and Wenatchee played a crisp 1:55 game that ended with the Applesox winning 4-1 and a torrential downpour minutes after the final out had been recorded.

It marked the first time this season the Sweets had dropped two straight games and also dropped them below .500 on the season.  The two teams will meet again today, wrapping up their three-game series on Father's Day with a 6:05 p.m. start.

Let's take a look at what we can expect from the series-finale after the break...
 Walla Walla (5-6) 2nd place in the East Division
- Saturday night marked the second time this summer that an opposing pitcher had a perfect game into the seventh inning. Aaron Brooks was perfect through 6.1 innings before Alex Stanford's double and Corvallis' Max Beatty was also perfect through 6.1 on June 4.
- Stanford's double extended his hitting streak to three games and he has doubled in each of the last three games.  He has hit in all but two games this summer and leads the team in runs with six.  He also extended his home hitting streak to six games and is hitting .250 at Borleske Stadium.
- While one streak continued, Chance Kopacz's seven-game hitting streak came to an end with an 0-4 night.  Kopacz's 10-game on-base streak also ended.  It sits as the second-longest streak so far this summer in the West Coast League.
- In 11 games, the Sweets have scored first just three times and have won all three of those games.
- They are also 4-0 when leading after five and 0-6 when trailing after the middle frame.

Wenatchee (13-1) 1st in the East Division
- Have won 13th straight and are 8-0 on their current nine-game road trip.
- They were in line for their league-leading fifth save last night before the Sweets scored in the ninth.
- Sunday's starter Alex Phillips has the only Applesox loss this season, allowing six runs on opening night.  He has not allowed a run in his last two starts and both games have been shutout wins for Wenatchee.
- He's also one of five Applesox pitchers that have at least two wins.  Mike Murray leads the staff at 4-0.
- Three players extended their hitting streaks to eight games on Saturday, Breland Almadova, Adam Nelubowich and Brock Gates.  The trio has combined to hit .427 (47-110), nine doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI and 24 runs scored.

Extra-bases:
- After tonight, the Sweets and Wenatchee will meet six more times this summer.  Walla Walla will start and end their season-long nine-game road trip in July with games in Wenatchee and finish their season with a three-game series against the Applesox.
- Tonight's starters, Phillips for Wenatchee and Tim Culligan for the Sweets, were teammates last spring at Lower Columbia College.  The Red Devils won the NWAACC championship and Culligan was 8-1, Phillips 9-1. 

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