PORT ANGELES — The West Coast League named two Port Angeles Lefties to the North squad of the WCL’s All-Star Game.
Pitcher Nick Bonniksen (Dixie State University) and catcher Brody Kato (Arizona Western College) were selected to the squad.
Bonniksen is 4-0 for the Lefties with an ERA of 2.89 and 21 strikeouts in 28 innings. Kato is hitting .287 with two home runs and 16 RBIs while playing catcher. He has made just three errors in 21 games.
A total of 42 players were named to the North and South squads from the 11 teams in the WCL.
The WCL All-Star Game will be played at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Yakima County Stadium in Yakima.
Following the game, the league’s annual midsummer classic will conclude with a spectacular fireworks display, and the Mariner Moose also will be in attendance.
For the first time, the league’s All-Star Game Home Run Derby will be held the night before the All-Star Game, on Monday, July 17.
Monday’s All-Star Game Fan Fest includes the Home Run Derby and a concert by singer Aaron Crawford of Seattle. Fan Fest gates open at 5:30 pm; the Aaron Crawford concert begins at 8 pm.
Tickets for all WCL All-Star Game events are on sale online at pippinsbaseball.com.
The North all-stars will be managed by Bellingham Bells skipper Greg Goetz while the South team will be guided by Yakima Valley Pippins manager Marcus McKimmy.
Players of the Week
The West Coast League Player of the Week and Pitcher of the Week are Mississippi State sophomore outfielder Hunter Vansau of the Victoria HarbourCats and Omaha-Nebraska sophomore pitcher Cal Hehnke of the Kelowna Falcons.
Vansau, who will be a junior next spring, went 11 for 21 (.524) for the week with eight runs, a double, triple, three stolen bases, three homers and 12 RBIs.
He is hitting .426 for the summer with 4 homers and 18 RBIs, and was selected to represent the North in this year’s WCL All-Star Game.
This past season at Mississippi State, Vansau hit .297 over 118 at bats.
Hehnke made two quality starts for the Falcons, tossing 14 innings while allowing only one run. Both outings were seven-inning stints and road starts. The junior-to-be threw seven scoreless innings and earned a win at Yakima Valley in Kelowna’s 5-3 victory July 3. He is 4-0 with a 2.63 ERA this summer, and was named to the WCL North All-Star team.
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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.
