Wenatchee AppleSox to Kick Off Postseason @ Nanaimo

The Wenatchee AppleSox are gearing up for a high-stakes road contest - Game 1 of the North Division Series. On Saturday night, the AppleSox will face the dreaded Victoria HarbourCats at Serauxmen Stadium in Nanaimo, British Columbia.

This has to rank as one of the most exciting and electric rivalries in WCL baseball. The AppleSox have been spoiling for a rematch ever since last season's North Division Series, in which they were swept by the HarbourCats.

But this time it's different! The AppleSox have home-field advantage. The winner of this series will face either Bellingham or Edmonton in the North Division title game on Wednesday.

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Garrett Ahern is pitching. Ahern, a right-handed rising sophomore at Grand Canyon University, went 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in eight regular season starts for the AppleSox.

Fans are no doubt clamoring for another glimpse at power hitter Aidan Dougherty. A rising upperclassman at the University of Connecticut, Dougherty batted a league-best .380 during the regular season.

He comes into this series with fierce momentum. According to Joel Norman, play-by-play commentator for the AppleSox, Dougherty finished the regular season "on a 10-game hitting streak, leading the WCL with five triples."

The AppleSox are postseason mainstays, having qualified in four of the last five seasons. Mitch Darlington's tenure as head coach has been especially fruitful; the AppleSox have never fallen short of playoff contention with Darlington at the helm.

To date the franchise has clinched five WCL championships, the most recent being in 2012. They also won a Pacific International League title in 2003.

Saturday's matchup begins at 6:35 p.m. It can be viewed at wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv or heard at kcsyfm.com.

Click here to purchase tickets for Sunday's game at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. Game 3 - assuming there is a Game 3 - will also take place at home.