It was two innings that let things slip for the Nanaimo NightOwls, letting a league-best four-game win streak come to an end.
The visiting Wenatchee AppleSox scored four times in both the sixth and seventh innings on Saturday night at historic-and-renovated Serauxmen Stadium, earning an 8-1 victory to even the key series at a game apiece. The NightOwls had won 6-5 in dramatic fashion on Friday to extend their win streak to four, and keep pace in the tough North Division second half pennant chase.
The NightOwls had a 1-0 lead thanks to a Talan Zenk double in the fourth, leading to him score what would be the only Nanaimo run on a wild pitch with catcher Brock Wirthgen at the plate.
Zach Horwith threw five scoreless innings, giving up four hits and two walks, with three strikeouts. Reliever Vincenzo Bruno entered and, in what would lead to him taking his first WCL loss, gave up four runs due to three hits and a walk, a quick spurt from the AppleSox that would change the course of the game. Brennan Kettle, who gave up the other four runs, Jakin Rohne and Carter Chard-Hill also toed the rubber for Nanaimo.
Zenk and Andrew Nykoluk both had a pair of hits. Max Mendes of Wenatchee went seven innings to earn the victory. Evan Cloyd was 2-4 with four runs driven in, three of them on a bases-clearing double in the seventh inning.
The NightOwls are second in the North Division in the second half, in a tight group at 5-3, sitting 2.5 games back of the Victoria HarbourCats. At 17-18 overall, Nanaimo is two games out of the final wild card playoff spot, and coming on strong.
The AppleSox are in town for one more game — 1pm on Sunday, July 13, at Serauxmen Stadium, the rubber match of the three-game series.
After this series, the WCL gets into non-league games and the all-star break — the WCL all-star game goes Wednesday night in Bellingham, with the NightOwls facing the local Nanaimo Selects on Tuesday and Thursday nights, always exciting games of interest with all the former college players from the area getting to share the field with the top current collegiate guys on the NightOwls roster. The Tuesday and Thursday night games are both 6:35pm starts.
The NightOwls will be in Wenatchee next weekend, July 18-20, then return home to welcome the Corvallis Knights to Nanaimo for the first time, July 22-24 — all 6:35pm games, a Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday set.
The NightOwls have just seven regular season home games remaining, including the Sunday/tomorrow game with Wenatchee.
