Falcons sending trio to WCL All-Star Game

Hehnke, Tinglestad, Pruitt to represent North Division in Port Angeles next week

Three Kelowna Falcons were announced among the selections for the annual West Coast League All-Star Game, to be held in Port Angeles, Wash., on July 17.

Cal Hehnke will play in his second All-Star Game, while Trent Tinglestad and Dan Pruitt will be making their first All-Star appearances as the Falcons will have three representatives for the second straight season.

Hehnke has been dominant out of the bullpen for Kelowna this season, acting as the team’s closer and collecting five saves. In 19 1/3 innings pitched this season, the Grand Island, Nebraska, native has allowed just four runs on 12 hits in his 11 games so far — including one start, which came in opening game of the season against Bellingham. The University of NebraskaOmaha junior has struck out 32 batters, which ranks fifth in the WCL, while walking just one.

Tinglestad has been taking the WCL by storm, with his name appearing at the top of many leaderboards on the major offensive categories. The Marysville, Wash., product leads the league with a .392 batting average, while sitting in a tie for the top spot in doubles at eight and home runs at seven. Tinglestad also leads the pack with 27 RBIs, including three four-hit games.

Pruitt is enjoying a very solid first season in the West Coast League, with 24 hits in his first 66 at-bats. The Oklahoma City native has a .364 batting average while connecting for two home runs and 10 RBIs.

The freshman from Seminole State College is second in the WCL, behind just Tinglestad, with a .471 on-base percentage, and Pruitt has also been playing strong defence, having yet to commit an error on the season. The All-Star Game will take place next Tuesday from Civic Field, with the All-Star Saltwater Splashdown going Monday as contestants hit homers into the water. Representatives from each division will be announced later in the week.

FALCONS 14, BLACK BEARS 8

The Falcons racked up a season-high 14 runs and 20 hits as they earned their third win in a row with a series-opening victory over the Cowlitz, Wash., Black Bears on Monday night at Elks Stadium.

Taylor Wright went 4-for-4 with three RBIs, while Pruitt, Grant Suponchick, Ezra Samperi and Matt Voelzke also had multiRBI games as the Falcons improved to 3-1 on their current six-game homestand.

That series continued Tuesday night, with the finale slated for 6:35 p.m. tonight at Elks.

Prior to facing Cowlitz, Kelowna (17-13) scored a 9-4 win over the Portland Pickles on Sunday night to take that series 2-1.