Meet Allie Schank, General Manager of the Wenatchee AppleSox Baseball Club

Schank, who has been with the team since 2018 and general manager since 2021, leads the team with a passion for sports and community engagement. 

Established in 1999, the AppleSox is a collegiate wood-bat summer baseball team that provides competitive, affordable family entertainment at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium on the Wenatchee Valley College campus. With a long history of producing professional players and a tradition of good, old-fashioned family fun, the AppleSox compete in the West Coast League and are striving for a seventh league title in 2024. 

Schank is dedicated to her role and aims to continue the club’s legacy of excellence on and off the field.

Recently we caught up with Schank to learn more about her and her vision for the AppleSox.

Please tell our readers about the Apple Sox.

Established in 1999, the Wenatchee AppleSox Baseball Club is a collegiate wood-bat summer baseball club that provides an opportunity for young men who hope to continue their baseball careers beyond their college years by providing competitive, affordable family entertainment at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium, which sits on the Wenatchee Valley College Campus. 

Every summer, young men leave their colleges and come to Wenatchee, hoping to hone their skills and impress their head coaches when they return in August. Since its first season in 2000, the team has been centered around traditional baseball and good, old-fashioned family fun. 

The AppleSox are members of the West Coast League, which was founded in 2005 by the Bellingham Bells, Bend Elks, Corvallis Knights (formerly Aloha Knights), Kelowna Falcons, and Wenatchee AppleSox, and now consists of fifteen additional teams throughout Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alberta. They compete in 54 league games throughout their two-and-a-half-month season.

Quite a few players have moved on from the AppleSox to play in the pros, and with so many players moving up, it only goes to prove that the AppleSox have what it takes to provide their players the opportunity to play on one of the best teams in the Pacific Northwest and give them the leadership skills and training that they need to grow into the best player they can. With such a healthy number of players moving on to pro baseball teams, the AppleSox has proven they can produce quality players and quality baseball games and that they are a team that is watched by professionals and amateurs alike.  

The AppleSox won the league championships in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2012. In 2019, the AppleSox returned to the postseason for the first time since 2013. The Sox won the North Division second-half title two seasons later but again finished just one win short of advancing to the West Coast League Championship Game. After three close misses in the last three seasons, the AppleSox are hungry to bring home a seventh league title in 2024!

How long have you been in this role?

I've been with the AppleSox since May 2018 and have been the General Manager since February 2021. 

Tell our readers a little bit about yourself.

I was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and in addition to Atlanta, I also lived in Richmond, VA, and Raleigh, NC, for my childhood before our family returned to Atlanta. Growing up, I participated in or played various sports, from gymnastics to track and cross country to swimming. 

I attended the University of Georgia from 2014-2018, majoring in Marketing and minoring in Sports Management and Consumer Economics. While in school, I was a member of the rowing team for my freshman and sophomore year. I was also a founding member of Delta Phi Epsilon, where I was the special events planner for two years. In addition to my extracurriculars, I worked with the athletic department for three years in student-athlete tutoring and accountability services. During my time in school, I interned with the University of Georgia, Sleep and Sinuses Centers of Georgia, and a wedding venue. 

Since moving to Wenatchee, I've been exploring the beautiful outdoors and enjoying the variety of activities that the Wenatchee Valley offers. I live with my dog, Colchuck, who I named after one of my favorite hikes in NCW. 

What led you to this position?

My entire life has been consumed with sports, from watching to participating, and I always wanted to continue my career with something involving sports. I love the passion and pride that accompany the pure love of the game and seeing athletes push themselves to improve continuously. 

I originally went to school thinking I would become an Athletic Trainer, and after silently suffering my way through science courses, I decided it was time for a change and opted to approach sports from a different angle. I followed my father's advice to attain a business degree while gaining experience and a minor in sports management. After applying to countless places during my senior year of college, I was offered an opportunity to work as the Assistant General Manager for the Wenatchee AppleSox. So, I moved, sight unseen, to Wenatchee, WA, from Athens, GA, after graduating from UGA less than two weeks before my first day of work, and I've been in Wenatchee ever since. 

What are you most looking forward to in your role as General Manager of the Apple Sox?

The AppleSox have a longstanding winning tradition, yet we have not won a championship since 2012. One of my goals for the past few years is to bring the AppleSox back to the WCL championship and win it. With the wonderful coaching staff and players on the team this season, I think we're going to be in a good spot to accomplish just that. 

What does a normal day look like as General Manager of the Apple Sox?

My role varies drastically day-to-day, and I wear many hats throughout the year for various tasks. During the months of September to March, I work through many logistical items, such as planning and booking travel and hotels during the season, meeting and finding new sponsors to help support the team, participating in community outreach, hiring seasonal employees, planning and looking for new ideas to make the season the best it can be. 

From April to August, there are so many moving parts, from ticket sales, finding host families for the AppleSox players during the season, ordering merchandise, delivering on advertising for sponsors, and finally, during the season itself, ensuring each game goes smoothly and that our fans enjoy themselves. 

I never know what challenges I will face on a given day, and being the manager means that many people depend on me, and I have to be ready to jump to action at any given time. For example, just two weeks ago, I drove over to Port Angeles to pick up two of our players following game 3 of our series in PA as these two players didn't have passports, so they wouldn't be able to continue with the team to Victoria, BC the next day. So, I drove 11 hours in a 24-hour time period to pick them up and bring them back to Wenatchee. It is not a typical day, but still a part of the job. 

What is your favorite part of your job and why?

My favorite part of managing the AppleSox is watching all the hard work that my co-worker Nikolas and I put in during the off-season and seeing our community join together and enjoy baseball with neighbors, friends, family, and total strangers under the lights at the field. I've been blessed to watch families grow up at the ballpark and have made lifelong friends through the AppleSox community. I love connecting with fans and hearing about their lives, which means I hear stories about how their parents used to take them to Wenatchee Chiefs games when they were growing up, and now they bring their children and grandchildren to the AppleSox games. I watch little kids clamoring after players to get their autographs as if these players were MLB stars. There are games where I see strangers sitting beside each other, high-fiving and cheering together as they celebrate a win. It reminds me that baseball, and sports in general, are a place where race, religion, and politics aren't felt as we're all there watching and cheering for these young men to achieve their dreams and play their hearts out every night.

What are some of your goals for the Apple Sox?

The AppleSox was founded on the idea that we are here for the community to enjoy and for our neighbors to be able to watch first-class baseball in the heart of Washington. I want to continue building our presence and continuing to offer low-cost family entertainment to the North Central Washington community. My goal is to be as inclusive of our community as we can be, as baseball should be enjoyed by anyone. 

Who or what inspires you?

My parents are my greatest inspiration. From working tirelessly through school to navigating various jobs, they taught me invaluable lessons that will stick with me for life. They taught me the importance of hard work, ethical integrity, and always considering others. My dad's infectious laughter and love for life taught me to appreciate every moment. My mom showed me how to be kind to everyone, as you never know what someone is going through. Above all, they instilled in me the drive to continuously improve myself and to never settle for less than my best. Their love and teachings continue to guide and inspire me daily.

What do you like to do with your free time?

In my free time, I enjoy spending time outdoors. I love taking my dog hiking in the spring and summer months, going paddleboarding with friends when it's warm enough, and spending any spare time at Mission Ridge snowboarding in winter. I also love baking and cooking, spending time with friends, traveling in my spare time, finding new restaurants, or relaxing with my dog. 

Is there anything else you want our readers to know?

If you haven't been to an AppleSox game, you're missing out, and I highly encourage you to attend a game this summer. There's no better place to celebrate the warm Wenatchee nights than under the lights at the stadium, listening to the crack of the bat and enjoying a delicious burger with fellow game attendees. Go Sox!

Quinn Propst: 509-731-3590 or quinn@ward.media.