Brown Shuts Down AppleSox, Gresham Wins Fourth Straight
July 10, 2016 - West Coast League (WCL)
Gresham GreyWolves News Release
WENATCHEE, Washington - The hot start to the West Coast League's second half continued for the Gresham GreyWolves, who used three late runs and a masterful relief performance to defeat Wenatchee 6-4. Gresham claimed its fourth straight victory, improving to 4-0 in second half play.
Entering in the sixth inning and facing a 4-3 deficit, Chris Brown (UC Davis) kept the AppleSox (0-4, 10-21 overall) in check through the final out. Brown faced just one over the minimum in four innings of work, retiring the first 10 batters he faced and striking out five. With one away in the last of the ninth, Wenatchee catcher Haydan Hastings tagged Brown for a base hit. He was the first and last AppleSox batter to have any luck off of the left-hander. Brown was rewarded with his first winning decision of the summer.
The GreyWolves (4-0, 15-16) showed no ill effects of another extended bus trip back over the U.S.-Canada border, getting to work offensively in the opening inning. Three singles in the frame by Dylan Doherty (Cal Poly), Ryan Smith (Southern Illinois) and Ryan Rodriguez (Dixie State) scored a pair of runs, with an RBI accompanying the latter two hits.
Gresham's early advantage was quickly erased, however, with the AppleSox scoring three runs of their own in the first. The first five Wenatchee batters combined to hit for the cycle, highlighted by a leadoff home run by Wenatchee third baseman Shane Martinez.
The scoring abruptly died down as the next three innings yielded no runs. GreyWolves' lefty Gabe Benavides (Grand Canyon) and Wenatchee lefty Justin Blatner settled down after rough opening innings.
In the fifth inning, the GreyWolves finally broke through and knotted the score at three. Doherty manufactured a run by legging out a single, stealing second, going to third on a fielder's choice and coming in to score on an AppleSox' miscue.
After Wenatchee quickly restored its one-run lead in the following half-inning, Gresham ensured it had the last say with runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Two quick strikeouts did not deter the GreyWolves in the seventh, as Jeffrey Mitchell Jr. (Cal) drew a walk and came around to score on Smith's second RBI single of the evening. The GreyWolves broke the stalemate in the following inning, taking advantage of a wild pitch and an error to score the go-ahead runs.
Gresham could not take advantage of a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the top of the ninth, but Brown ensured that a two-run edge was all the GreyWolves needed to start the three-game series out in the win column.
The GreyWolves out-hit the AppleSox 9-8, with two-hit performances coming from Doherty, Smith and Rodriguez.
The series resumes on Sunday night with a 6:05 p.m. first pitch as Gresham looks to seal a series win. LHP Aaron Shoup (1-2, 3.97 ERA) gets the nod for the GreyWolves, and he will be opposed by LHP Grady Miller (2-1, 3.90 ERA).
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West Coast League Stories from July 10, 2016
- Knights Lose Series Finale - Corvallis Knights
- HarbourCats Suffer First Home Loss - Victoria HabourCats
- Brown Shuts Down AppleSox, Gresham Wins Fourth Straight - Gresham GreyWolves
- Bells Swat Away BlueJackets - Bellingham Bells
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