PASCO — In a series full of closely-contested games, it was appropriate that the tiebreaking game was decided by a single run.
Unfortunately for the Everett AquaSox, they found themselves on the wrong end of that one-run result.
The Tri-City Dust Devils took the rubber game of the five-game series by defeating the AquaSox 4-3 Tuesday afternoon in Northwest League action.
In a back-and-forth contest, the Dust Devils pushed across the final run in the bottom of the seventh inning to snap a 3-3 tie.
Tri-City ended up winning the season-opening series, in which three of the five games were decided by one run.
Everett had just tied it 3-3 in the top of the seventh when Tri-City rallied for the winning run in the bottom half of the frame. David Hernandez’s soft single to center scoring Ryan Casteel from second, and the Dust Devils made the run hold up.
Ken Roberts earned the win in relief for Tri-City, tossing 11/3 scoreless innings. Isaiah Froneberger earned the save, his second of the series, by tossing a perfect ninth.
Rudy van Heydoorn paced Everett, knocking two doubles and scoring two runs. Starting pitcher Bennett Whitmore had a solid outing, allowing just one run on two hits and one walk in five innings and striking out five.
Tri-City struck first in the bottom of the second. With two out Jeffrey Squier lined a triple to the right-center gap, then scored on a wild pitch to make it 1-0.
Everett tied it up in the third. Van Heydoorn led off with a double, advanced to third on a flyout and scored when Mario Yepez rolled a single up the middle, knotting it at 1-1.
The Sox then took the lead in the fifth. Van Heydoorn struck out on a pitch in the dirt, but advanced to second when catcher Richard Pirkle overthrew first. Jarrett Burgess then drove van Heydoorn home by doubling off the left-field wall to give Everett a 2-1 advantage.
Tri-City regained the lead in the sixth. Tim Smalling singled home Brian Humphries to tie it, then Smalling came around to score from second when pitcher Nolan Diaz’s throw hit Leo Reyes as Reyes was running down the first-base line after a bunt, giving the Dust Devils a 3-2 lead.
Everett tied it again in the seventh, van Heydoorn doubling down the left-field line to score James Wood from second and make it 3-3.
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