Series Preview: Bears
- Updated: July 10, 2019
The Kelowna Falcons embark on a six-game road trip that begins with a stop in Longview, Washington for a three-game series against the South Division’s Cowlitz Black Bears beginning on Wednesday night at Story Field.
2019 Season Series:
Friday, June 21st @ Elks Stadium (10-9 Falcons) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, June 22nd @ Elks Stadium (4-3 Falcons) (BOXSCORE)
Sunday, June 23rd @ Elks Stadium (8-6 Black Bears) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, July 10th @ Story Field (6:35 PM)
Thursday, July 11th @ Story Field (6:35 PM)
Monday, July 15th @ Story Field (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 come into the set against Cowlitz after winning back-to-back series’, including picking up two of three wins against the Walla Walla Sweets at home over the weekend. Kelowna picked up back-to-back 3-2 victories on a doubleheader Saturday after Friday saw rainfall and the game cancelled. The Sweets avoided the sweep as they earned a 6-3 win in the final game of the set.
- With the Falcons taking off for six games on the road, the series will be split up a bit differently than what is normally done with two three-game series back-to-back. To cut down on travel for the trip, the Falcons will begin with a pair of games in Cowlitz before heading to Corvallis to play the Knights for three games while coming back to Cowlitz to finish off the set with a single game and head home.
- When it comes to hitting against the Falcons, only one team is tougher when on the mound. Kelowna has surrendered a .243 batting average against and 214 hits allowed, which is second behind the Corvallis Knights for the league lead. The Falcons have also given up just 150 runs in 226.1 innings pitched this season, which places them 5th in the West Coast League in runs against.
Cowlitz:
- The Black bears come into the series having won four of their last five games, including a three-game sweep over the Port Angeles Lefties over the weekend at home. Cowlitz started the three-game set off with an 8-7 victory followed by an 8-4 triumph to pick up the series win. The sweep was completed with a 6-3 defeat of the Lefties before a visit from the Falcons.
- This series marks the second and final time the Falcons and Black Bears will meet in the regular season with Kelowna picking up a series win the last time these two non-divisional foes matched up. Kelowna opened the series with a 10-9 victory before picking up a 4-3 defeat for the series win before Cowlitz salvaged the set with an 8-6 triumph.
- As the Falcons saw in the three-game series just a couple of weeks ago back in Kelowna, the Black Bears are not afraid to be aggressive on the base paths this season but that has cost them in certain respects. Cowlitz is the third-highest team caught stealing in the WCL, being caught 13 times trying to swipe while they sit tied for 6th in successful steals at 44.
Players To Watch:
Kelowna:
INF Marvcus Guarin (6’2”/198 lbs/Seattle University)
It was another strong series for the San Francisco, California native as he compiled four hits in eight at-bats and drove in a pair of runs to help the Falcons to victories in two of the three games against the Sweets. Guarin currently brings a five-game hitting streak into this series against the Black Bears with two doubles, a home run and six RBI’s in that span. The freshman is also hitting .371 on the season and has more walks (10) than strikeouts (8) while showing a strong ability to get on base.
P Jonathan Clark (6’0”/180 lbs/San Jose State)
Another freshman from the Bay Area, Clark will take the mound in the opening game of the road trip and brings with him consistency from the rubber. The San Marcos, California native has pitched 5+ innings in each of his last four starts, including a victory the last time he took the mound against the Wenatchee AppleSox on July 2nd. Clark threw 5 innings allowing two runs on two hits with five walks and two strikeouts as the Falcons earned a 5-3 win and the right hander currently leads the club in innings thrown this season at 25.1.
P Kristian Scott (6’3”/220 lbs/Chico State)
The main man from the back end of the bullpen when the game is on the line has been the hard throwing right hander in Scott, who came up large in the Falcons two wins over Walla Walla in a doubleheader. The Glendora, California product was used to close the contest in each of the 7th innings, pitching an inning in the first game before delivering a strikeout to conclude the second game of the day and earn his second save of the day.
Cowlitz:
OF Austin Bell (5’9”/195 lbs/Dallas Baptist
University)
The driving force of the Black Bears offence has been returning outfielder Austin Bell, who has been on a tear as of late. The Albuquerque, New Mexico native has scored a run in each of his last five games and has reached base in each of his 15 games this season. Bell leads the Black Bears with a .358 batting average, going 19-for-53 at the plate while mustering four doubles, a triple, a home run and 15 RBI’s.
INF Braden DeBenedictis (6’1”/210 lbs/University of Utah)
Another big part of the offensive attack for Cowlitz comes in the way of former Port Angeles Leftie DeBenedictis, who is over the .300 mark for batting average this season. Going 24-for-72 at the plate, the Taylorsville, Utah native is hitting .312 in his 22 games played while notching four doubles and eight RBI’s. It’s been a bit of a rough patch as of late for the infielder, having gone 0 for his last 8 but was big in the series against the Falcons earlier this year, going 6-for-13 with a pair of RBI’s.
P Jorge Arellano (6’2”/220 lbs/UC Santa Barbara)
The left-handed pitcher has been a big key out of the bullpen for skipper Grady Tweit and his staff but was thrust into action in his last outing, getting the start against Port Angeles on July 7th. The Cudahy, California native threw four innings of no-run ball, allowing two hits and striking out five in a 6-3 Black Bears victory. Arellano holds a 1.68 ERA in four appearances this season, throwing 10.1 innings while collecting 16 strikeouts to 8 walks and 9 hits allowing and also giving up just two earned runs.
The Falcons and Black Bears open their three-game set on Wednesday before heading to Corvallis for three games and finishing off the series on Monday night back at Story Field. First pitch for each of the games is set for 6:35 PM with the game available to listen and watch through the Black Bears website.
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