Everett, Wash.
Published: Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Aggressive AquaSox win home opener

Welington Dotel's aggressive play on the basepaths in the 10th inning helps give Everett a 4-3 win over Spokane Tuesday night

By Rich Myhre
Herald Writer

 EVERETT -- In the top of the 10th inning, Everett AquaSox outfielder Welington Dotel came within a whisker of an outstanding diving defensive play. It was a terrific effort, but a gamble that nearly allowed Spokane to score the go-ahead run.

Instead the Indians were denied, and in the bottom of the 10th some similar aggressiveness by Dotel on the basepath lifted the AquaSox to a 4-3 victory in the team's 2009 home opener before a delighted crowd of 3,395 at Everett Memorial Stadium.

Dotel doubled off the wall with one out in the 10th and sprinted into second base, sliding a split second after the outfield throw arrived. But the ball was not handled cleanly at second base, and Dotel would probably have wiggled in under the tag anyway.

He then hurried to third on a wild pitch, another close play, and scored as teammate Anthony Phillips lofted a long fly ball to center field over Spokane's drawn-in outfield for the winning run.

"I'll take that," said Dotel, who also delivered a solo home in the third inning. "When you're trying to do the best for your team, I don't care how you can win the game. Winning is winning. You have to help your team win any way you can."

Dotel's daring try for second base in the 10th "is the way he plays the game and I can't fault him for that," said Everett manager John Tamargo. "I'd rather him be aggressive than passive on that ball."

"You have to think double in the batting box," Dotel said. "If you think double and you go hard, you'll get there."

By scoring the winning run, Dotel became one of the game's heroes. His defensive gamble in the top of the 10th, however, almost allowed the Indians to seize the lead.

Spokane's Aja Barto led of the inning with a drive down the right-field line, and after a long run Dotel made a diving try for the ball. Instead it nicked off his glove and bounced past him into the corner, which allowed Barto to dash around to third with a triple.

"It was close," Dotel said, holding his thumb and forefinger a quarter-inch apart. "It was so close. I just missed it by a little bit."

"We'll talk to him about that," Tamargo said. "We want to try to keep (the hitter) to a double, or even a single. If (Dotel) dives, that puts (the hitter) in scoring position. And that's not a real good play in a tie ballgame. But it's aggressiveness, and it's better to be able to tone him down than fire him up."

It could have been costly, but Barto ended up stranded at third. Against reliever Brad Reid, Spokane's Vincent Difazio grounded out to shortstop Phillips, who checked the runner and threw to first for the out. Reliever Brandon Pullen then entered the game to strike out Spokane's Clark Murphy and retire Alberto Puello on a checked-swing grounder to first base.

Everett then ended the game with the winning run moments later.

The Sox were one out away from winning in the ninth inning, but Spokane's Cody Podraza prolonged the game by drilling a 2-0 pitch from Reid over the left-field fence.

Everett scored its first three runs on solo homers. In addition to Dotel's blast over the right field scoreboard in the third, center fielder Kalian Sams had long solo shots to straightaway center in the second and to left-center in the sixth. He also homered in Everett's opening series in Vancouver, giving him three in the team's first four games.

"He's got the power to hit the ball out of any part of the ballpark," Tamargo said.

The two teams combined for 22 strikeouts, which was due partly to some hard-throwing pitchers and partly to the broad strike zone of home plate umpire Atsu Yoshioku. Of the strikeout total, 10 were on called strikes, and several of those retired batters had looks of disbelief as they started back to the dugout.

There was a frightening moment in the fifth inning when Spokane's Shon Landry took a fastball in the batting helmet from Everett starter Chris Kirkland. Landry stayed on the ground in front of home plate for over a minute before being helped to his feet. He stayed in the game, and moments later stole second base.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA