GreyWolves Look to Right Ship vs. Wenatchee in Three-Game Series
June 24, 2016 - West Coast League (WCL)
Gresham GreyWolves News Release
GRESHAM, Ore. - The GreyWolves return to the friendly confines of Oslund Field on the campus of Mt. Hood Community College, looking to rekindle some of the excitement of last home stand which saw Gresham take two of three games in dramatic fashion. After a four-game road swing featuring games against Yakima Valley and Cowlitz, Gresham is back in town to host Wenatchee in a three-game series, spanning Friday through Sunday.
LAST TIME OUT
Gresham dropped a single game to Yakima Valley on Monday evening before dropping two of three to Cowlitz in a series ending on Thursday evening. In the opener of the road trip, the Pippins scored four times in a decisive fifth inning that led Yakima Valley to a 6-1 victory.
The GreyWolves appeared as if they would return to the win column in the series opener against the Black Bears on Tuesday, but a two-run bottom of the ninth inning by Cowlitz granted them the walk-off victory. Reliever Rilyn Lewchuk (Corban) provided a spark for Gresham in Game 2 of the three-game series on Wednesday night, retiring 19 consecutive batters to prevent Cowlitz from mounting a comeback for the second straight evening. In the series rubber match, Cowlitz plated seven runs in the opening three frames to put the game - and the series victory - out of reach.
PITCHING PREVIEW
Gresham's probable starters are as follows:
* Game 1: LHP Chris Brown (UC Davis) returns to the mound for Gresham after pitching the first 4.2 innings of the GreyWolves' dramatic 6-5 comeback win last Saturday night. The left-hander is coming off of a freshman campaign for the Aggies where he made a team-high 29 appearances on the hill. * Game 2: RHP David Wallum (Linn-Benton) features a 0.64 ERA through 14.0 innings this season, a mark which is top ten in the West Coast League leaderboards. Wallum looks to continue his dominance on the mound in the Saturday night start. * Game 3: LHP Gabe Benavides (Grand Canyon) has shown flashes of brilliance for Gresham this summer, including a 6.0-inning, no earned run effort at Victoria last week.
AMONG THE BEST
The transition from aluminum bat to wood bat hasn't seemed to faze GreyWolves' outfielder Jeffrey Mitchell Jr. (Cal), who is second in the entire West Coast League with a .370 batting average. He is up to 20 hits in just 54 at bats on the season. Mitchell batted .500 (7-for-14) in Gresham's last series at Oslund Field. Earlier this year, he was named WCL Player of the Week, the first such honor in team history for the Gresham slugger.
While Mitchell is getting it done from the plate, David Wallum - the Wolves' Game 2 scheduled starter - is taking care of business on the bump. In 14.0 innings of work on the year, Wallum has allowed just one earned run. Consider Wallum hails from a community college, he holds the top ERA of any WCL pitcher from a community college. The next closest community college pitcher ranks 17th in the league with a 1.64 ERA.
WAITING FOR THE POWER
While the GreyWolves have shown the ability to draw walks and get on base (.327 on-base percentage), they are still waiting for the power to catch up. Gresham has hit 21 extra-base hits on the season, none of which have been home runs. The GreyWolves look to take advantage of a Wenatchee pitching staff that has a 4.60 ERA and allows opponents to hit .277, marks which rank 10th in the 11-team West Coast League.
SITUATIONAL RECORDS
Home: 5-4
Series Records: 2-3
Road: 1-6
Shutouts: 1-1
Streak: L1
One-Run Games: 2-3
Last 5: 1-4
vs South Division: 4-6
1st Game of Series: 2-3
vs North Division: 2-4
2nd Game of Series: 3-2
When outscoring opponent: 6-0
3rd Game of Series: 1-4
When outscored by opponent: 0-10
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
The AppleSox are last in the North Division standings with a 6-9 overall record, 5.5 games back of division-leading Victoria. Common opponents between Wenatchee and Gresham are Yakima Valley and Victoria with neither club having much success against either opponent. Wenatchee was swept by both the Pippins and HarbourCats, while Gresham went 1-6 against the two clubs with the one victory being a 5-0 shutout of Yakima Valley.
The matchup between the two clubs will feature a pair of struggling offenses who rank towards the bottom of the West Coast League. Wenatchee's pitching staff has also struggled, allowing the highest opponent slugging percentage of any team while ranking 10th in the WCL with a staff ERA of 4.60.
HOW TO FOLLOW
* Live Audio: Every GreyWolves game - home and away - is available all summer long on GreyWolves Live, the exclusive home for GreyWolves Baseball all summer long. Join play-by-play broadcasters Alex Yavarski and Evan Giddings who bring you all of the action.Click here to listen. * Live Stats: All games feature live, pitch-by-pitch statistics via Pointstreak. 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 24, 2016
- Falcons win over BlackBears - Kelowna Falcons
- GreyWolves Look to Right Ship vs. Wenatchee in Three-Game Series - Gresham GreyWolves
- Buuck's Relief Effort Not Enough in 7-3 Defeat - Gresham GreyWolves
- Bend Denies AppleSox Sweep Bid - Wenatchee AppleSox
- Sweets Offense Lights out in 10-3 Win - Walla Walla Sweets
- Bells Bounce Back to Beat Pippins - Bellingham Bells
- Falcons Win 5-4 - Kelowna Falcons
- Pippins Bats Fall Short in Bellingham Series Finale - Yakima Valley Pippins
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