WCCBL Notes

The Wenatchee AppleSox won the inaugural WCCBL Championship Series as the Sox swept the Bellingham Bells 2 games to 0. The WCCBL Champions won game one at Bellingham by erasing a two run deficit with a three-run ninth to take the series opener 3-2. Shortstop Brent Wyatt of Wenatchee Valley College delivered the game-winning hit with a two-out RBI double. Clayton Mortensen, a junior-to be at Gonzaga, tossed a complete game to earn the win. Mortensen was named WCCBL Player of the Week for his playoff performance. The Sox closed the series at home with another come from behind victory. Wenatchee erased a 2-1 deficit in the bottom of the sixth as team leader Steve Marquardt (pictured) of Columbia Basin College delivered the series-winning hit with his bases loaded three-run double. Fittingly, the 23rd round pick of the Rangers came up with the big blow as Marquardt was named WCCBL MVP prior to the game. Elliott Cribby, a junior-to-be at University of Washington, twirled 7 solid innings to earn the Sox 5-2 playoff win and closer Steve Martlaro of USC pitched the final two innings for the save.

On Thursday, August 11, the WCCBL and its sponsor partners DeMarini and Rawlings announced its first WCCBL DeMarini All-Performance and Rawlings Gold Glove team. Congratulations to the student-athletes honored and much thanks to DeMarini and Rawlings for their support of the WCCBL.

WCCBL DeMarini All-Performance

C: Cody Carrier, Kelowna Falcons (Sr.-to-be at East Central University) – .261
1B: Steve Marquardt, Wenatchee AppleSox (So.-to-be at Columbia Basin College) – .333
2B: Louie Hernandez, Bellingham Bells (Jr.-to-be at University of California, Riverside) – .333
SS: Chad Schroeder, Bellingham Bells (Jr.-to-be at University of Illinois at Chicago) – .356
3B: John Hee, Wenatchee AppleSox (So.-to-be at University of Hawaii) – .352
DH: Geoff Wagner, Bend Elks (Sr.-to-be at Oregon State University) – .329
OF: Wally Crancer, Aloha Knights (Jr.-to-be at Georgia Tech) – .328
OF: Andrew Lefave, Bellingham Bells (Sr.-to-be at Missouri Valley College) – .328
OF: Travis Vetters, Wenatchee AppleSox (Sr.-to-be at University of Portland) – .302

WCCBL Rawlings Gold Gloves

C: Adam Hackstedt, Aloha Knights (Sr.-to-be at Concordia University) – 1.000
1B: Bill Rowe, Aloha Knights (Sr.-to-be at University of California, Santa Barbara) – .990
2B: Bryan Winston, Spokane RiverHawks (Jr.-to-be at Gonzaga University) – .967
SS: Chad Schroeder, Bellingham Bells (Jr.-to-be at University of Illinois at Chicago) – .964
3B: John Hee, Wenatchee AppleSox (So.-to-be at University of Hawaii) – .957
LF: Brent Mertens, Spokane RiverHawks (Jr.-to-be at Western Oregon University) – 1.000
CF: Zach Borba, Aloha Knights (Jr.-to-be at UNLV) – .987
RF: Travis Vetters, Wenatchee AppleSox (Sr.-to-be at University of Portland) – .987
P: Kevin Waldron, Bend Elks (Jr.-to-be at Cal Poly SLO) – 1.000

Prior to game two of the WCCBL Championship Series Saturday, August 13, the WCCBL announced its first- and second-team All-WCCBL squads. The teams were selected by member vote.

Introducing the 2005 All-WCCBL first-team:

C- Cody Carrier, Kelowna Falcons (Sr.-to-be at East Central University)
1B- Steve Marquardt, Wenatchee AppleSox (So.-to-be at Columbia Basin College)
2B- Louie Hernandez, Bellingham Bells (Jr.-to-be at University of California, Riverside)
SS- Chad Schroeder, Bellingham Bells (Jr.-to-be at University of Illinois at Chicago)
3B- John Hee, Wenatchee AppleSox (So.-to-be at University of Hawaii)
DH- Geoff Wagner, Bend Elks (Sr.-to-be at Oregon State University)
OF- Andrew Lefave, Bellingham Bells (Sr.-to-be at Missouri Valley College)
OF- Wally Crancer, Aloha Knights (Jr.-to-be at Georgia Tech)
OF- Travis Vetters, Wenatchee AppleSox (Sr.-to-be at University of Portland)

P- Tommy Hanson, Aloha Knights (So.-to-be at Riverside CC)
P- Bud Norris, Aloha Knights (Jr.-to-be at Cal Poly SLO)
P- Zach Bird, Aloha Knights (Jr.-to-be at Coastal Carolina)
P- DJ Lidyard, Bellingham Bells (So.-to-be at Lower Columbia College)
P- Clayton Mortensen, Wenatchee AppleSox (Jr.-to-be at Gonzaga University)
RP- Steve Martlaro, Wenatchee AppleSox (So.-to-be at University of Southern California)

Introducing the 2005 All-WCCBL second-team:

C- Adam Hackstedt, Aloha Knights (Sr.-to-be at Concordia University)
1B- Bill Rowe, Aloha Knights (Sr.-to-be at University of California, Santa Barbara)
2B- Jamie Nilsen, Wenatchee AppleSox (So.-to-be at Central Washington University)
SS- Brent Wyatt, Wenatchee AppleSox (Wenatchee Valley College, So./undecided)
3B- Darin Holcomb, Aloha Knights (So.-to-be at Gonzaga University)
DH- Shawn Wayt, Aloha Knights (So.-to-be at Gonzaga University)
OF- Gabe Riley, Kitsap BlueJackets (Sr.-to-be at Missouri Valley College)
OF- Cory Rickard, Spokane RiverHawks (Sr.-to-be at University of Washington)
OF- Jesse Roehl, Wenatchee AppleSox (Jr.-to-be at Lewis-Clark State College)

P- Eric Van Slyke, Bellingham Bells (Jr.-to-be at Oklahoma State University)
P- Jayson Miller, Wenatchee AppleSox (So.-to-be at Washington State University)
P- Brad Ashman, Kelowna Falcons (Sr.-to-be at University of British Columbia)
P- Scott Reese, Bend Elks (Jr.-to-be at Creighton University)
P- Kyle Cline, Kitsap BlueJackets (Jr.-to-be at Missouri Valley College)
RP- Jacob Nix, Kelowna Falcons (So.-to-be at Central Arizona College)
RP- Garrett Parcell, Aloha Knights (Jr.-to-be at San Diego State University)

– Tommy Hanson of the Aloha Knights was named the WCCBL’s “Pitcher of the Year”. Hanson led the league in strikeouts with 76 and posted the WCCBL’s lowest ERA at 1.12. The 6’6″ right-hander from Redlands, California was rated the WCCBL’s top prospect by Baseball America. Hanson was a 22nd round pick of the Atlanta Braves in the 2005 MLB draft and is a sophomore-to be at Riverside Community College.

– Steve Marquardt of the Wenatchee AppleSox was named the WCCBL’s first Most Valuable Player. Marquardt led the league in doubles with 13 and was third in the league in hitting with a .333 batting average. The sophomore-to-be at Columbia Basin College and 23rd round pick of the Rangers played both corner positions and was arguably the most feared hitter in the league.

– Ed Knaggs, manager of the 2005 WCCBL champion Wenatchee AppleSox, was named the WCCBL “Coach of the Year”. Knaggs led the AppleSox to a league best 29-7 record and sweep of Bellingham in the WCCBL Championship Series. Knaggs, the Sox fifth-year skipper, adds his WCCBL crown to his three PIL division titles and 2003 PIL championship.

– The Kitsap partners led by managing partner Rick Smith were named WCCBL “Executives of the Year”. Rick Smith, Bruce Bordenick, Charles Cates, Chuck Huddleston, Charles Littman, Wynne Littman and Paul Peterson brought baseball back to Bremerton, Washington in grand fashion and are this year’s WCCBL Executives of the Year. The expansion BlueJackets played its home games at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds and the team averaged 760 fans over 17 league dates with a high of 1,177. Hats off to the hard working BlueJackets’ partners for a very successful inaugural season.

– The Aloha Knights of Gresham finished 4th at the 2005 NBC World Series. As the 2004 NBC World Series champs, the Knights were obligated to defend its title at the 2005 Series. The team finished 2nd in the WCCBL with a 27-9 record, but because of its commitment as defending champions missed a chance at squaring off with Wenatchee in the WCCBL Championship Series. At the NBC World Series in Wichita, Kansas, the Knights won its first three games to earn a spot in the 42-team tourney’s Sweet Six quarterfinals with the Santa Barbara Foresters, Southern California Fire, Seattle Studs, Clarinda A’s and Prairie Gravel before losing its final two games to Seattle and Santa Barbara. Knights’ ace Tommy Hanson of Riverside CC was named “Leading Pitcher” at the Series and Hanson and Zach Borba, a junior-to be at UNLV, were both named All-NBC World Series. The Knights also were awarded the NBC’s “Best Pitching Staff” award.

– The Bend Elks set attendance records this summer. The sixth-year franchise set new records this season at Vince Genna Stadium for total attendance (23,657) and average attendance (875). The Elks drew 14,289 fans for its seventeen WCCBL dates for an average of 840 per game with a league high mark of 1,547 on July 26 vs. Aloha. Team owner Jim Richards pointed out that the average is skewed on the low side by five rain dates that kept crowds small on those nights. Throw those five days out, he said, and the average attendance is about 920. The Bend Elks drew six crowds in excess of 1,200 during July alone. For more information on the Elks 2005 season, check out the Bend Bulletin’s Still fan favorites article.

– Wenatchee also posted record attendance numbers. Paid admission for the entire 2005 season was 28,944 (17% increase over last year, and the Sox best ever). The AppleSox averaged 927 fans for its eighteen WCCBL games at Paul Thomas Field (total of 16,697) with a high of 1,268 at its WCCBL regular season finale.

The WCCBL is dedicated to player development, player exposure and to providing affordable summer entertainment to its member communities.