GreyWolves Close Homestand with Yakima Valley Series

Published on June 9, 2016 under West Coast League (WCL)
Gresham GreyWolves News Release


GRESHAM, Ore. - Fresh off a pair of wins in its inaugural West Coast League series, the Gresham GreyWolves will return to action starting tonight for a three-game set with the visiting Yakima Valley Pippins (4-0). The series will span Thursday through Saturday at Oslund Field, with each game beginning at 7:05 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT

Gresham opened WCL play with a three-game series against the Cowlitz Black Bears earlier this week. Led by a 4-RBI night from California product Jeffrey Mitchell, the GreyWolves cruised to a 9-4 win in the lid-lifter of that series. It was the pitching staff that got the job done one night later, as Spud Heideman (Concordia-Wisconsin) and Will Matthiessen (West Linn HS/Stanford) combined for nine innings of one-run baseball. Their performance ended up being just enough as Gresham pulled out a 3-1 victory.

The Black Bears ended up salvaging one win in the series in Wednesday night's finale. A three-run seventh inning wasn't enough for the GreyWolves, as they eventually fell 7-5 to drop their first game in franchise history.

PITCHING PREVIEW

Gresham's probable starters are as follows:

Game 1: RHP Brett Gannaway, who actually recorded a save in the first game in GreyWolves' history, will get the nod in Game 1. Gannaway just recently finished his sophomore season at Columbia, where he compiled a 3.60 ERA in 10 innings of work for the Lions.

Game 2: LHP Cason Cunningham (Linfield) got the start for head coach Justin Barchus' club in their final non-conference game of the season. He impressed in his scheduled two innings of work, striking out four while allowing one run to visiting Thurston County.

Game 3: RHP David Wallum rounds out the series rotation for the Gresham. Wallum is coming off a solid freshman season at Linn-Benton CC, where he made 11 starts and posted a 3.24 ERA for the Roadrunners.STARTING STRONG

Four GreyWolves are currently hitting above the .300 mark on the young season. Mitchell leads the team with a stellar .545 average, recording six base hits and five RBIs in just three games.

Kyle Henderson (1-for-2), Jordan Barchus (2-for-4), and Marc Mumper (4-for-12) have also performed well at the plate thus far. Outfielder Drew Curtis (Southern Illinois) is second to Mitchell in the RBI category, driving in four runs after three games of play.

DOING EVERYTHING

Will Matthiessen hasn't even graduated from high school yet (that will come later this weekend), but the West Linn product and Stanford signee has already played at third base and closed out a game on the mound for his summer league club. Matthiessen is currently hitting .250 with a double and RBI for Gresham, while also recording a save in a perfect inning against Cowlitz.

AROUND THE WCL

The first half standings for the WCL are below. The top two teams in each division after 27 games will qualify for the playoffs.

North DivisionWLPCTGBSTREAKLAST 10

Kelowna Falcons 4 1 0.800 - 4W 4-1

Walla Walla Sweets 3 2 0.600 1 2L 3-2

Victoria HarbourCats 2 3 0.400 2 2W 2-3

Bellingham Bells 1 4 0.200 3 4L 1-4

Wenatchee AppleSox 0 5 0.000 4 5L 0-5

South DivisionWLPCTGBSTREAKLAST 10

Yakima Valley Pippins 4 0 1.000 - 4W 4-0

Cowlitz Black Bears 4 2 0.667 1 1W 4-2

Gresham GreyWolves 2 1 0.667 1.5 1L 2-1

Corvallis Knights 3 2 0.600 1.5 2W 3-2

Bend Elks 3 3 0.500 2 1L 3-3

Kitsap BlueJackets 1 4 0.200 3.5 1W 1-4

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

The Yakima Valley Pippins enter Thursday's matchup with a perfect 4-0 mark in West Coast League play after sweeping Wenatchee and taking a single game against Bend to start the season. Yakima Valley has shined thus far in large part thanks to some impressive performances on the mound, allowing a total of just seven runs through four games.

At the plate, the team is led by Arizona product Mitchell Morimoto. The junior has started in all four games and is currently hitting at a .500 clip with three RBIs on the young season.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Live Audio: Join play-by-play broadcasters Alex Yavarski and Evan Giddings on GreyWolves Live, the exclusive home of Gresham GreyWolves baseball all summer long.

Live Stats: Head to the schedule page to find the Live Stats link for each of the three games.

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West Coast League Stories from June 9, 2016


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