EVERETT -- Everett Memorial Stadium, under the best of conditions, is no pitcher's friend.
When the pitchers can't throw strikes it becomes an enemy.
Add a brisk wind blowing out to center field and it becomes outright deadly.
Finally, throw in some awful defense and the scoreboard begins to collapse under its own weight.
This one couldn't have gotten much uglier for the Everett AquaSox.
None of the forces that work toward preventing runs fell in Everett's favor Wednesday night, and the Sox were thrashed 18-9 by the Spokane Indians.
Spokane took full advantage of the blustery conditions by slugging four home runs. Everett's pitchers aided the Indians cause by issuing nine walks. To top it off the Sox committed five errors -- three by shortstop Anthony Phillips -- leading to five unearned runs.
Put it all together and it's a formula for a crooked number in the runs column.
"That's the Northwest League," Everett manager John Tamargo said. "Anything can happen at any time."
Jared Prince, a Washington State University product, and Aja Barto each finished 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBI to spearhead Spokane's potent attack. Vincent DiFazio and Denny Duron also homered for the Indians (3-2).
"We really haven't put up a lot of runs the first few games," Spokane manager Tim Hulett said. "It's been our pitching and defense that have won us some games, so it was good to see our offense come through."
Ben Billingsley went 3-for-4 to pace Everett (2-3).
The Sox couldn't have gotten off to a better start, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first inning to grab a 6-0 lead.
But Everett Memorial Stadium showed once again that no lead is safe. Spokane scored the game's next 18 runs, taking an 18-6 lead in the sixth. Twice the Indians scored seven times in an inning.
"It was a little disappointing to have a six-run lead and not be able to hold it," Tamargo said. "But that's what this league is about. We're going to make mistakes and throw the ball around. We just have to battle it back tomorrow."
Everett's pitchers seemed to struggle with the conditions. The Indians hit a pair of solo home runs off Sox starter Taylor Stanton, and from that point on Everett's pitchers began nibbling. The combination of walks and errors meant Spokane scored its 18 runs with the benefit of just 13 hits.
"(The wind) was probably in (the pitchers') minds," Tamargo said. "But you can't change what you're doing when you're out there. You have to throw to your strengths, you can't try to pitch around things like the wind. And hitters too. You can't try to pull the ball and hit it in the air if you're not capable of doing it, especially when they're throwing you away."
Stanton, making his Sox debut, took the loss. The right-hander gave up eight runs -- five earned -- in 3 1/3 innings, surrendering seven hits and three walks while striking out four.
Meanwhile, Spokane starter Kyle O'Campo did a good job of limiting the damage. The right-hander gave up six runs in the first, but settled down by following with three scoreless frames. Braden Tullis earned the win in relief. Everett was all over Ocampo in the first inning. The damage began when O'Campo hit Mario Martinez on an 0-2 pitch with the bases loaded, forcing the first run in. That was followed by a two-run single by Juan Fuentes, an RBI double by Billingsley and another two-run single by Jose Rivero, staking the Sox to an early 6-0 lead.
But the Sox managed to squander it all and then some by the fourth.
Spokane got one run back in the top of the second when DiFazio tattooed a line drive over the center-field fence for a solo homer. The Indians then got back into it in the third on Duron's solo homer to left, with single runs scoring on a groundout and wild pitch.
The Indians then caught, passed and left the Sox in the dust in the fourth, Barto and Prince each belting three-run homers during a seven-run inning that gave Spokane a sudden 11-6 lead.
It turned out that was just Spokane's first seven-run frame. The Indians put another seven spot on the board in the sixth, highlighted by Emmanuel Solis' two-run double off the left-center wall, and lowlighted by right fielder Welignton Dotel dropping a popup, as the lead stretched to 18-6.
