WCL Bellingham Bells

Bells All WCL Awards

Published on August 27, 2012 under West Coast League (WCL)
Bellingham Bells News Release


Portland, Oregon, August 25, 2012 - The 2012 All-West Coast League teams were released, along with the league's individual and team awards, this afternoon by WCL president Ken Wilson. The Klamath Falls Gems led the way with seven players named All-WCL while the Kelowna Falcons and Wenatchee AppleSox had five players honored.

The league's Most Valuable Player is Wenatchee third baseman Mitchell Gunsolus of Gonzaga who led the league with 48 RBIs while batting .371 with 3 home runs. The sweet-swinging left-handed batter helped lead the AppleSox to their 5th WCL title, hitting .333 in the post-season with a home run.

Gunsolus is the fourth Gonzaga player to win WCL MVP honors. Alex Stanford of Walla Walla was named MVP in 2011, and Drew Heid of Bend and Darin Holcomb of Spokane were MVPs in 2008 and 2006, respectively.

Right-hander Cord Cockrell of the Kelowna Falcons was named the WCL Pitcher of the Year. Cockrell, a sophomore-to-be at Louisiana-Lafayette, tied for the league lead with 7 victories while posting a 2.30 ERA, the fourth lowest in the WCL.

Wenatchee AppleSox coach Ed Knaggs was named Coach of the Year (for a fourth time) and Bellingham Bells GM Nick Caples was named Executive of the Year. The Cowlitz Black Bears earned the Jim Dietz Sportsmanship Award for a second consecutive year.

First-Team All-WCL

C - Nathaniel Causey (Arizona State), Bellingham Bells

1B - Joshua Wong (Hawaii-Hilo), Klamath Falls Gems

2B - Parker Miles (Chemeketa CC), Klamath Falls Gems

3B - Mitchell Gunsolus (Gonzaga), Wenatchee AppleSox

SS - Alex Rubanowitz (UC Riverside), Cowlitz Black Bears

OF - Will Sparks (Washington), Bend Elks

OF - Kyle Pearson (LSU-Shreveport), Kelowna Falcons

OF - Derek Atkinson (Clackamas CC), Bellingham Bells

UTL - Greg Mahle (UC Santa Barbara), Corvallis Knights

SP - Cord Cockrell (Louisiana-Lafayette), Kelowna Falcons

SP - Adam Gunn (Utah Valley), Bellingham Bells

SP - Arturo Reyes (Columbia Basin College), Walla Walla Sweets

SP - Rob Dittrick (Pacific), Corvallis Knights

SP - Brandon Marris (Southeastern Oklahoma State), Kelowna Falcons

RP - Tyler Kane (Washington), Wenatchee AppleSox

Second-Team All-WCL

C - Jerry McClanahan (UC Irvine), Kelowna Falcons

1B - Bo Walter (College of San Mateo), Bend Elks

2B - Marc Gallegos (Corban), Corvallis Knights; Jace Conrad (Louisiana-Lafayette), Kelowna Falcons; Steven Ventimilia (Hawaii), Wenatchee AppleSox

3B - Austin Byler (Nevada-Reno), Klamath Falls Gems

SS - Tanner Nielsen (Campbellsville), Klamath Falls Gems

OF - Austin Diemer (Cal State Fullerton), Cowlitz Black Bears

OF - Greg Velazquez (Cal State Fullerton), Klamath Falls Gems

OF - Jarel Lewis (College of Idaho), Bellingham Bells

UTL - Taylor Sparks (UC Irvine), Wenatchee AppleSox

SP - Derek Callahan (Gonzaga), Wenatchee AppleSox

SP - Cole Irvin (frosh-to-be at Oregon), Cowlitz Black Bears

SP - Mitch Merten (UC Irvine), Klamath Falls Gems

SP - Darin Gillies (Arizona State), Bend Elks

SP - Travis Radke (Portland), Bend Elks

RP - Thomas Eshelman (frosh-to-be at Cal State Fullerton), Klamath Falls Gems; Taylor Williams (Mt. Hood CC), Cowlitz Black Bears

All-WCL Honorable Mention

Bellingham Bells - Andrew Ely (Washington), Kai Hatch (Utah Valley); Bend Elks - J.R. Bunda (Portland), Steven Halcomb (Gonzaga), Shawn O'Brien (St. Mary's); Corvallis Knights - Austin Barr (frosh-to-be at Stanford), Nate Esposito (Oregon State), Trevor Frank (UC Riverside), Dylan Stuart (UC Riverside); Kelowna Falcons - Tyler Qualls (Louisiana Tech); Kitsap BlueJackets - Francisco Torres (Vanguard); Walla Walla Sweets - Brett Jacobs (Washington State), Hunter Virant (frosh-to-be at UCLA), Shane Zeile (UCLA); Wenatchee AppleSox - Beau Kerns (Wenatchee Valley CC).

WCL MVPs

2012 - Mitchell Gunsolus (Gonzaga) of Wenatchee

2011 - Alex Stanford (Gonzaga) of Walla Walla

2010 - Tommy Richards (Washington State) of Bend

2009 - Richie Jimenez (Riverside CC) of Corvallis

2008 - Drew Heid (Gonzaga) of Bend

2007 - Zach Kim (San Francisco) of Moses Lake; Brandon Kuykendall (Benedictine College) of Kitsap

2006 - Darin Holcomb (Gonzaga) of Spokane

2005 - Steve Marquardt (Columbia Basin College) of Wenatchee

WCL Pitchers of the Year

2012 - Cord Cockrell (Louisiana-Lafayette) of Kelowna

2011 - Owen Jones (Portland) of Wenatchee

2010 - Dayne Quist (UC Davis) of Kelowna

2009 - Matt Andriese (UC Riverside) of Corvallis

2008 - Jared Eskew (Cal Poly) of Corvallis

2007 - Paul Applebee (UC Riverside) of Bellingham

2006 - Ross Humes (Washington State) of Kitsap

2005 - Tommy Hanson (Riverside CC) of Aloha

WCL Coaches of the Year

2012 - Ed Knaggs, Wenatchee

2011 - Brooke Knight, Corvallis

2010 - Ed Knaggs, Wenatchee

2009 - Brooke Knight, Corvallis; Ed Knaggs, Wenatchee

2008 - Brooke Knight, Corvallis

2007 - Gabe Boruff, Moses Lake

2006 - Steve Hertz, Spokane

2005 - Ed Knaggs, Wenatchee

WCL Executives of the Year

2012 - Nick Caples, Bellingham

2011 - Eddie Poplawski, Bellingham

2010 - Zachary Fraser, Walla Walla

2009 - Dan Segel, Corvallis

2008 - Dan Segel, Corvallis

2007 - Dan Segel, Corvallis

2006 - Brent & Amy Kirwan, Moses Lake

2005 - Rick Smith & partners, Kitsap

Jim Dietz Sportsmanship Award

2012 - Cowlitz Black Bears

2011 - Cowlitz Black Bears

2010 - Moses Lake Pirates

2009 - Moses Lake Pirates

2008 - Corvallis Knights

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West Coast League Stories from August 27, 2012


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