Falcons Beat AppleSox, Take Series 2-1

The Kelowna Falcons rebounded in huge way Thursday night to take game three of the series by a 3-1 score. The Falcons won the first game by a score of 6-4 before being soundly beaten 13-3 the next night.

It was a huge series win for the Falcons, who are looking to make a run at a post-season berth with nine games left on the schedule.

Defense and excellent pitching was the story of the night for the Falcons. Max Carter pitched a gem of a game and was then followed by AJ Sawyer and Jared Morton. Morton, the All-Star closer, recorded his eighth save of the summer.

The Falcons started the action off when Michael Ciancio, the freshman out of Seattle University, singled and drove in AJ Sawyer in the bottom of the second. The next time the third baseman was up, he again hit an RBI single, this time driving home Jesse Moore. He credited his success with seeing the pitches well and hitting their mistakes.

In the seventh inning the Falcons added some insurance as Bowen Ogata ground out to first but picked up the RBI as Lane Lacrone scored and made it 3-0. Wenatchee got their first run of the ballgame in the seventh, when Matt Reitano singled home Ryan Kreidler. That would be the only run of the ballgame for the AppleSox, who were shut down by Sawyer and Morton shortly after.

Bryan Donohue was particularly impressed with the pitching and defense of his team on the night. “Defense always plays well behind pitchers that are efficient in the strike zone. Maz struck a whole bunch of guys out, the defense and bullpen did the job and we got the job done.”

Donohue also had some strong words for his team in the remaining nine games. He said, “The plan from here on out is to win the last three series. If we do that, we’ll definitely be in it.”

With the win, the Falcons move to 10-8 in the second half of the year. That puts them in a tie with Bellingham for second. It’s going to come right down to the wire for that second playoff spot, and that should produce some must watch baseball.

The Falcons are on the road for the next six where they will take on the Yakima Valley Pippins and Bellingham Bells. Game one against Yakima goes at 7:05 pm.

Story and picture by: Anthony Fusco Falcons Play by Play