Summer Leagues: Yorke Hits Slam; Stafford Helps Corvallis to Title

Joe Yorke follows the flight of the ball.

Joe Yorke, shown in Hawai'i series in late May, hit a grand slam in a victory for Eau Claire in a recent Northwoods League game.

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Summer Leagues: Yorke Hits Slam; Stafford Helps Corvallis to Title

8/17/2022 5:17:00 PM | Baseball

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Joe Yorke smashed a grand slam for the Eau Claire Express and Ryan Stafford helped Corvallis win the West Coast League championship for the sixth straight year and ninth overall.

Yorke's second home run of the year was a bases-loaded home run to right field in Eau Claire's 13-5 win over Rochester last Saturday.

Yorke hit safely in 10 of 11 games before going 0-for-3 in the season finale. He was 16-for-41 (.390) during the run with two doubles, both of his home runs and 15 RBIs. Yorke finished the year with a .296 average with 47 hits in 44 games, including seven doubles. He drove in 41 runs for the Express.

Stafford went 7-for-19 (.368) with three RBIs in the West Coast League playoffs, contributing a single in the Knights' 5-0 championship game win over the Bellingham Bells on Monday.

Stafford finished the year with a .358 batting average in 20 games, going 24-for-67 with two doubles and 13 RBIs.

Matthias Haas hit .276 for Lake Shore in the Northwoods League with 10 doubles, three home runs and 20 RBIs in 40 games. He ended his season with a six-game hitting streak, going 10-for-23 with two doubles and four RBIs.

Evan Cloyd was a .276 hitter for Portland in the West Coast League, contributing three doubles, a triple, two home runs and 13 RBIS with three steals while Austin Caviness sported a .290 average in 42 games for Ridgefield, collecting five doubles, two home runs and 16 RBIs with nine steals.

On the mound, Evan Tomlinson posted a 2-2 record and 1.71 ERA for Portland en route to first-team All-West Coast League honors. All of his 13 appearances on the mound were in relief and he struck out 31 batters over 26 1/3 innings.

Derek True (3.08 ERA) and Chris Baytosh (4.45 ERA) both were 2-1 for Eau Claire while Steven Brooks was 4-2 with a 3.86 ERA for Willmar. True struck out 36 batters in 26 1/3 innings, Brooks 35 in 39 2/3 innings and Baytosh 33 in 28 1/3 frames.

Ryan Stafford catches for Corvallis Knights. — **Ryan Stafford gets a new baseball from the home plate umpire.**

Outfielder Jacob Steels, a transfer from Hancock College this fall, hit .327 at Kelowna. In 41 games, he had 12 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 29 RBIs with 10 steals. Carson Stevens went 7-for-17 in his final four games of the season at Rochester, finishing with a .257 average, nine doubles, four home runs and 26 RBIs in 32 games.

In addition, incoming infielder Ryan Fenn sported a .280 average over 22 games for the San Diego Waves with four doubles and 16 RBIs while utility player Taison Corio hit .268 for the Walnut Creek Crawdads with six doubles, three triples, four home runs, 25 RBIs and eight steals in 38 games.

Newcomer Freddy Rodriguez was 2-0 with a 4.76 ERA at Portland, striking out 31 batters over 34 innings. On July 27 he tossed five scoreless innings in a 2-0 win over Walla Walla, allowing three hits and two walks with six strikeouts.

Another newcomer, Holden Garcia, had no decisions but a 2.84 ERA and one save at Cowlitz, striking out 13 batters over 12 2/3 innings, while Noah Larkin was 3-3 with a 3.63 ERA for the Sonoma Stompers, notching 26 strikeouts over 34 2/3 innings. He made seven starts and four relief appearances.

Infielder Tate Shimao hit .367 for the Alaska Goldpanners with seven doubles, three triples, a pair of home runs and 16 steals in 18 atte4mpts. Shimao knocked in 29 runs in 38 games for the Alaska Baseball League team.

Other current Mustangs playing summer ball ...

Kaden Sheedy at Willmar, Jake Buxton at Traverse City, Jack Painter at Duluth and Collin Villegas (.226) with the San Luis Obispo Blues.

Among the newcomers this fall ...

Owen Dueck (2-2, 5.29 ERA), Aaron Rettew (1-0, 9.17 ERA) and Kemet Brown (.206, two doubles, seven RBIs), all at Port Angeles; Wyatt King (.269, three doubles) at Portland; Charlie Royle (1-2, 5.74 ERA) at Ridgefield, Troy McCain (.211, four doubles, eight RBIs) at Kelowna, Aaron Casillas (.257, three doubles, 30 RBIs in 42 games) at Kingsport, Mikey Bell (.247, three doubles, 23 RBIs) at Sonoma, Ryan Baum (1-2. 1.63 ERA, 25 strikeouts over 22 innings) at San Luis Obispo; and Jake Cross and Owen Firestone, both with Bercovich, which placed first at the TPR Summer Championships in late June.