A 9th Inning Comeback Seals Series Over AppleSox

2024-07-11

Hawks score 3 in their last chance at bat to make it a 6-4 W

By Cody F. Schmidt

A surprise win tonight for the Edmonton Riverhawks, who trailed from the 1st onward. Besting the Wenatchee AppleSox in the 9th inning, the Hawks overcame the second night in a row of defensive mishaps to claim victory. This wins the series against Wenatchee, and puts the Hawks at 21-12 on the season. 3-3 in the second half, the Hawks will need to improve their pace over the weekend to break ahead of the muddled four-way tie in the North Division.

While errors stung the Hawks for runs early, they came back to haunt the AppleSox in the 9th. After #12 Rex Watson’s leadoff single, #34 Jack Giordano and #49 Noah Konings both reached off of AppleSox defensive errors that should have shut down the inning. As Konings got on base Watson trotted home to tie the game, then a massive double from #3 Michael Soper sailed left field and brought home the two leading RBI.

After three quiet innings at the plate, the Riverhawks woke up in the 4th as #54 Sam Kane, #36 Jakob Poturnak, and #35 Trent Lenihan hit back-to-back-to-back singles to lead off the inning. The fourth single was hit by #47 Will Vasseur who scored Kane, then a wild pitch brought Poturnak home. With a pair in scoring position, Lenihan was able to run home on a #51 Royce Hale RBI groundout which tied the game back up.

A pair of errors in the first gave Wenatchee an early lead, as last night’s defensive woes continued. With the pair of unearned runners scoring, #38 David Stuart was peppered with hits through the rest of the 1st, bringing one more run home before a fly out to centre got him out of the jam. Stuart’s 2nd was more anomalous, but in the end way smoother than his 1st. What seemed like an initial leadoff double for Wenatchee was revoked and ruled foul leading to a fly out later in the AB. Stuart walked his second batter, but immediately picked him off at first to nullify the free pass before a ground ball finished the frame. Stuart settled down with quieter 3rd and 4th innings, but was stung with another runner reaching on an error and scoring in the 5th. Bouncing back for a 6th that had both his third walk and third strikeout, Stuart had his longest outing of the year making it through the inning complete. With only two of the four runs scored against him being credited, Stuart was more marred by the defensive errors than his own pitching.

The 7th brought #2 Austin Egan out for his second appearance of the series. He pitched a scoreless frame, allowing a walked runner who was immediately erased on a double play. Getting a chance to keep his arm warm between starts, #33 Halen Knoll tossed the 8th and struck out the side on eleven pitches, nearly tossing an immaculate inning and the credited win. #16 Tylor Jans earned his third save of the season as he worked through the 9th, aided by a double play, only allowing a pair of hits.

With the series against the AppleSox complete, the Riverhawks head to face the Victoria HarbourCats tomorrow. The weekend series will be their last until they return to RE/MAX Field on Friday July 19. In the meantime five Riverhawks will head to Bellingham to participate in the WCL All-Star Game on July 17. You can cheer on Soper, Poturnak, McFeely, Dearing, and Domingo thanks to the game being broadcast on MLB.TV, MLB.com, and the MLB App! Tune in at 7:30pm MDT to see the first appearance by any Riverhawks in a WCL All-Star Game. Then head to tickets.gohawks.ca to be able to cheer the squad on throughout the final home stand of the year.