Baseball Blurbs by Bruce Wenatchee at Bend Friday-Sunday (July 25-27) Game Times: 6:35 p.m. (Fri. and Sat.) 5:05 p.m. (Sun.) Vince Genna Stadium (Bend, Ore.) By: Bruce Bennett, 7/25
Wenatchee 12, Kelowna 1 last night. Wenatchee (21-18) at Bend (24-15) 6:35 tonight.
Wenatchee vs. Bend Started in 2000...and is one close series. Wenatchee- trails 34-32 overall, trails 31-28 in league games, leads 2-1 in playoffs and is tied 2-2 non- league. The Elks are the only league foe with a winning record vs. the AppleSox. - and Bend have played 66 games over 14 years and are only separated by six runs...Bend 317, Wenatchee 311. - and Bend have had 22 of 66 games (33 percent) decided by one run. - trailed 11 wins to 10 at Bend toward the end of 2010, and has since lost nine of 10 in the Oregon town to now trails 20-11. - got swept in three games a year ago...all on the Elks diamond. - will have played nine consecutive games at Bend when this series concludes. Last game in the Apple Capital was June, 2012. - and Bend are in second place in their respective divisions and both are just one game out of first.
Elks Making Tracks In the Elks first 16 games they were 6-10 and averaging 3.25 runs per game. Then things changed. For the last 23 contests they are 18-5 and averaging 7.96 runs per game, and In 10 of those 23 they’ve scored in double figures, including the last three in a row. In their last dozen games at home they are 9-3.
July 25 Games Except for home games this is a rough date for Wenatchee. On the 25th the Sox are 5-6 overall and league, 4-1 home, only 1-6 on the road and they did beat Bellingham last summer 11-3. They played Bend on this date in 2010 and won 8-2.
Did You Know? Three graduates of NCW high schools have played in the major leagues...Steve Kline of Chelan, Don Mc- Cormack of Omak and Jerrod Riggan of Brewster. Kline was a pitcher who spent 1971 to ‘73 with the New York Yankees, and split ‘74 between the Yankees and Cleveland Indians. He came back in ‘76 with the Atlanta Braves. He had a 43-45 career record. McCormack was a catcher who got the MLB “cup of coffee.” He got in two games in 1980 and three in ‘81 for the Philadelphia Phillies. Riggan, a pitcher, played in 67 games between the New York Mets in 2000 and ‘01, and the Cleveland Indians in 2002 and ‘03. His overall record was 5-4.
Standings East: Yakima Valley 22-17, WENATCHEE 21-18, Walla Walla 19-20, Kelowna 13-26 West: Bellingham 28-10, Victoria 18-21, Cowlitz 17-22, Kitsap 15-23 South: Corvallis 25-14, Bend 24-15, Medford 21-18, Klamath Falls 10-29
Who’s Hot: Bend has won 5 straight and 8 of 9. Wenatchee has won 5 of 6. Who’s Not: Klamath Falls has lost 14 of 16. Yakima Valley has lost 6 of 7.