Kelowna Falcons

Series Preview: Sox

The Kelowna Falcons return home after a six-game road trip as they conclude their season series against the Wenatchee AppleSox by hosting a three-game series beginning on Tuesday night at Elks Stadium.

TICKETS

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2019 Season Series:

Tuesday, July 2nd @ Paul Thomas Field (5-2 Falcons) (BOXSCORE)

Wednesday, July 3rd @ Paul Thomas Field (6-3 Falcons) (BOXSCORE)

Thursday, July 4th @ Paul Thomas Field (16-8 AppleSox) (BOXSCORE)

Tuesday, July 16th @ Elks Stadium (6:35 PM)

Wednesday, July 17th @ Elks Stadium (6:35 PM)

Thursday, July 18th @ Elks Stadium (6:35 PM)

2019 Returnees:

P Wyatt Hummel (Okanagan College/West Kelowna, BC)

P Ian Turner (Mt. Hood Community College/Maple Valley, Washington)

INF Jake Fischer (Okanagan College/Edmonton, AB)

INF Ezra Samperi (Mt. Hood Community College/Gresham, Oregon)

INF Tylor Nixon (Yakima Valley Community College/Hamilton, Montana)

INF Dan Pruitt (Western Oklahoma State/Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

INF Matt Voelzke (George Fox University/Lake Oswego, Oregon)

OF Austen Butler (University of British Columbia/Port Coquitlam, BC)

Between The Foul Poles:

Kelowna:

  • The Falcons return home after the second of their three six-game road trips this season after dropping two of three games to the Cowlitz Black Bears but finished on a winning note. In a series that began with games on Wednesday and Thursday, Kelowna finished off the set with a 3-1 victory on Monday night at Story Field thanks to strong pitching performances from Matt Voelzke, Tucker Grote and Kristian Scott for an extra inning triumph to wrap up the trip.
  • Kelowna has had some success against Wenatchee this season, coming just under two weeks ago down south at Paul Thomas Sr. Field. The Falcons posted 5-2 and 6-3 victories to win the three-game series over the AppleSox and have won each of the last three series they have played against Wenatchee, including both of the sets a season ago as some history comes on the Falcons side into the midweek affairs.
  • Elks Stadium has been a field that the Falcons have not seen in quite some time, having been away from home for just over a week. Kelowna is in the midst of their toughest part of the 2019 schedule, playing 12 games in 12 days and a quick stop at home is followed by a three-game weekend trip to Port Angeles to take on the Lefties. The Falcons return from the trip with a few days off before hosting Yakima Valley and Port Angeles in a six-game home stand.

Wenatchee:

  • Wenatchee comes into the midweek set in Kelowna having won each of their last four games, including a three-game sweep at home over the weekend against the Bellingham Bells. After a 16-2 victory over the Bend Elks, the AppleSox earned a tight 3-2 win over the Bells on Friday before a 10-8 triumph gave them the series win. Wenatchee completed the three-game sweep with an 8-3 win on Sunday evening to close out a strong series for the ‘Sox.
  • Averaging 10 hits a game during their four-game winning stretch, the AppleSox offence and approach at the plate has been a big part as to the team’s recent stretch of hot play. Wenatchee comes into the week with the third-best batting average of any team in the West Coast League, hitting .268 as a group and ranking third in hits with 305 over 34 games played. The AppleSox also sit tied for 3rd in doubles with 57 and home runs at 20 on the year while base running has been a strong point with 68 on the season, 4th in the WCL.
  • With the Victoria HarbourCats picking up the North Division title in the first half of the season, the AppleSox will look to try and finish atop the standings in the second half of the season to clinch a playoff berth and so far, Wenatchee has played strong. The AppleSox sit second behind Victoria with a 4-2 record in the second half of the season after a 12-15 first half.

Players To Watch:
Kelowna:
OF Austen Butler (5’11”/185 lbs/University of British Columbia)

One of the six Canadians on the Falcons squad has found his swing at the plate as he did in the early part of the season for Kelowna. The Port Coquitlam, BC native has collected hits in three of his last four games with two of those being multi-hit efforts. Butler has gone 6-for-14 including a terrific game to close the road trip in Cowlitz, hitting 3-for-4 in the game including scoring the winning run in the 10th inning for a 3-1 victory.

INF Richi Sede (5’10”/175 lbs/Corban College)

The middle infielder from the Dominican Republic continues to rack at the plate, registering hits in five of his last six games, recently seeing a five-game hitting streak come to an end on Monday night. The freshman is hitting .364 on the season, going 16-for-44 on the year with three doubles and eight RBI’s while holding an even number of walks and strikeouts at 5. Sede has been a key in getting on base, walking four times in his last three games including twice on Monday.

P Wyatt Hummel (6’2”/198 lbs/Okanagan College)

The right-handed pitcher who works out of the bullpen for Ryan Wright’s squad has been excellent in his latest outings, including a three-inning effort against the Walla Walla Sweets the last time the Falcons were at home, throwing three innings allowing just two hits with no runs coming across. The West Kelowna, BC product has not allowed a run in his last six innings pitched and seen his ERA slip to 3.14 in 14.1 innings of play for him this season.

Wenatchee:
OF Cole McKenzie (6’2”/185 lbs/Purdue University)

With hits in 10 of his last 11 games, McKenzie has been a big part of the AppleSox hot start to begin the second half of the WCL season. The Billings, Montana native went 6-for-12 when these two teams met in Wenatchee just over two weeks ago and he has continued that into a strong stretch of hitting .370 on the season, the best mark on the AppleSox. McKenzie holds a home run and 12 RBI’s on the season including a team high 9 doubles.

INF Kody Darcy (6’2”/185 lbs/Xavier University)

The sophomore from Xavier University has been tearing the cover off the baseball over the last few games, posting multi-hit performances in three of his last four games. The Kent, Washington native has scored a run in each of his last four games and went 5-for-10 in the three-game set against the Bells. Before that, Darcy had his best offensive effort of the year, going 3-for-4 with a triple, home run and 7 RBI’s in a 16-2 rout over the Bend Elks and comes into the series tied for the team lead with 17 RBI’s.

P Seth Kuykendall (6’3”/185 lbs/Western Oregon University)

There’s a strong chance the Falcons see one of the better arms in the AppleSox arsenal in the way of Kuykendall, who has seen Kelowna once before this season. That was the roughest outing of his year, going an inning allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits but holds a 1.86 ERA in six appearances on the season, including his best outing his last time out. The Spokane, Washington product hurled 6 strong innings, giving up no runs on seven hits and two walks while fanning seven batters in a no decision.

The Falcons and AppleSox will start their three-game set on Tuesday night and running through to Thursday before Kelowna heads back out on the road again. Tickets for this week’s games are available on the Falcons website as well as at the gate ahead of the opening pitch, which comes at 6:35 PM on each night.

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