Baseball Blurbs by Bruce Yakima Valley at Wenatchee Friday-Sunday (August 8-10) Game Times: 7:05 p.m. Fri. & Sat.; 6:05 p.m. Sun. Paul Thomas Sr. Field (Wenatchee, Wash.) By: Bruce Bennett, 8/9

Wenatchee 8, Yakima Valley 6 in last night.

Yakima Valley (33-19) at Wenatchee (30-22) 7:05 tonight.

How ‘Bout Them Gems Hope springs eternal for Wenatchee thanks to the plucky squad from Klamath Falls. The Gems, with the worst record in the WCL and a starting pitcher with an 8.28 ERA, charged into Bend last evening and blasted their hosts 9-3. That, coupled with the AppleSox victory, moves the local nine one step closer in their quest to make the playoffs. Both Wenatchee and Bend now have 30-22 records and both have two games remaining. But, the Elks own the tiebreaker. For the AppleSox to qualify for the playoffs they must finish ahead of Central Oregon herd. Wenatchee to Klamath Falls, GOOOO GEMS!!!

Yakima’s Baseball Past The south central city has had professional longer than another city in the West Coast League. For 53 years Yakima was home to teams in four different leagues. The name Pippins goes back to the nickname of the town’s team for five seasons from 1937 to ‘41. North Yakima Braves 1913-14 2 Western Tri-State League Class D Yakima Indians 1920-21 2 Pacific Coast International League Class B Athletic Field Yakima Pippins 1937-41 5 Western International League Class B Yakima Stars 1946-47 2 Western International League Class B Parker Field Yakima Packers 1948 1 Western International League Class B Parker Field 1949-54 6 Western International League Class B Parker Field Yakima Bears 1955-57 3 Class B Parker Field Yakima Braves 1958-62 5 Northwest League Class B Parker Field Yakima Braves 1963-65 3 Northwest League Class A Parker Field Yakima Braves 1966 1 Northwest League Short Season A Parker Field Yakima Bears 1990-92 3 Northwest League Short Season A Parker Field Yakima Bears 1993-2012 20 Northwest League Short Season A Yakima County Sta- dium

And What is a Pippin? According to specialityproduce.com, “The Pippin apple is said to have originated as a chance seedling or ‘pip’ in Newtown, Queens County, New York in 1730. One of the oldest apple varieties of the United Sates, the Pippin is said to have been a favorite of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Ben Frank- lin. In the 1800s the Pippin was exported to London where it was also a favorite of Queen Victoria. Today the bulk of the commercial Pippin apple supply comes out of California, Washington and Oregon with a smaller supply coming from New York and Virginia.” Another source says, “There are many varieties of pippin apples and they are used today primarily in cider and as a cooking apple.” Baseball Blurbs by Bruce Yakima Valley at Wenatchee Friday-Sunday (August 8-10) Game Times: 7:05 p.m. Fri. & Sat.; 6:05 p.m. Sun. Paul Thomas Sr. Field (Wenatchee, Wash.)

What? Concert Stops Game? Strange, but that’s what happened last night in Longview. The Cowlitz/Bellingham contest was sus- pended after eight innings because a Cort Carpenter concert was scheduled at Story Field after the game. But the game took so long (Black Bears 10, Bells 9) that by the time the game was completed there were potential curfew problems and the concert could be short circuited. So the Friday contest will begin at the ninth inning and be completed tonight prior to the regularly scheduled game. By the way, Cort Carpenter is a local product, a Kelso native who is a Nashville-based country singer. Life in the WCL.

Stuff - Wenatchee has won five straight, their longest winning streak of the season...and have won seven of their last eight. - The Sox have now won six straight over Yakima Valley. - Sam Brown’s poke over the right-field wall last night was the 200th AppleSox home run in 15 seasons of league play.

August 9 Games A bump in the road. After 13 consecutive days of mentioning winning dates, there is a change....8/9 hasn’t been as good. The record: 4-5 overall, 3-5 league, 1-0 nonleague, 1-1 home and 3-4 away. A year Kelowna won 7-5 in B.C.

Standings East: Yakima Valley 33-19, WENATCHEE 30-22, Walla Walla 26-26, Kelowna 15-37 West: Bellingham 36-15, Victoria 24-28, Cowlitz 22-29, Kitsap 22-30 South: Corvallis 34-18, Bend 30-22, Medford 25-27, Klamath Falls 14-38

Who’s Hot: Yakima Valley has won 10 of 11. Wenatchee has won 7 of 8. Bellingham has won 4 of 5. Who’s Not: Kelowna has lost 8 straight. Cowlitz has lost 4 straight and 5 of 6.