BOISE — In a game that featured two late-inning rallies by Boise and 25 total base hits, the Everett AquaSox found a way to survive the carnage Saturday night.
Frogs closer Nick Valenza struck out pinch-hitter Cael Brockmeyer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, stopping the Hawks’s final four-run surge as Everett defeated Boise 8-7 in a Northwest League game. The victory puts the AquaSox’s magic number for clinching a Northwest League North division playoff berth at one game.
The Sox were in control early with the pitching performance of starter Lars Huijer. He pitched six shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out eight on his way to his fifth win of the season.
The Hawks, down four runs in the seventh inning, took advantage of an Everett pitching change, reaching base on four straight hits off Sox reliever Tommy Burns to bring Boise within a run.
With one out in the seventh, reliever Aaron Brooks dominated the next 21/3 innings, striking out four before another Hawks rally began taking shape in the bottom half of the ninth.
In the ninth, five-straight base hits and four runs gave the Hawks the potential game-winning run at the plate before Valenzia struck out Brockmeyer
Offensively, every Everett hitter reached base on at least one hit and were powered by designated hitter Austin Wilson, the Mariners’ 2013 second-round pick. Wilson batted 2-for-4 to raise his average to .212. He hit his first home run as a professional — a solo shot in the top of the second inning — and had his first career stolen base in the eighth.
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