Frogs blow ninth-inning shutout, lose in 12 to Salem-Keizer
Published 9:00 pm Sunday, August 26, 2001
By Aaron Coe
Herald Writer
EVERETT – There’s just something about those Salem-Keizer Volcanoes.
They were all but finished Sunday night at Everett Memorial Stadium, but walked away with a 4-2, 12-inning Northwest League victory over the Everett AquaSox.
Seven spectacular innings by Everett starter Ryan Ketchner went for naught as the Frogs coughed up a 2-0 ninth-inning lead and squandered several scoring opportunities late in the game.
“It was frustrating,” AquaSox right fielder John Williamson said. “Nobody likes to lose. We had some chances, but oh well, we’ve gotta make the best of it.”
It was the eighth victory in 11 games for West Division leader Salem-Keizer (43-23) against Everett (32-33). The Volcanoes extended their lead to 10 1/2games over the Frogs, who were eliminated from postseason play.
AquaSox closer Jorge Sosa pitched a 1-2-3 eighth before things got more than a little interesting in the ninth.
That’s when the Volcanoes turned a game that once had threatened to end in close to two hours, spread out to three-hours, 32-minutes. By the time it was over, the crowd of 3,886 had dwindled to just of handful of loyal, but disappointed fans.
“If we play the game the way we are capable of doing, we can beat anyone in the league,” said Williamson, who nearly hit a home run in the 11th. “It’s just a matter of playing the game. We beat ourselves.”
Sosa allowed a leadoff walk to Alex Pinon in the ninth. Micah Holst then hit a ball through the legs of both the infield umpire and second baseman Tim Merritt for an error. Both runners were moved ahead on a sacrifice bunt to put Volcanoes at second and third with one out.
Julian Benavidez nearly tied things up with a single, but the potential second run – Holst – was gunned down by center fielder Jason VanMeetren, who benefited from a nice diving tag from catcher Luis Oliveros.
That out turned out to be huge, albeit temporary, because cleanup hitter Tyler Von Schell followed with a double to tie the score at 2-2.
In the Frogs’ half of the ninth, Greg Dobbs hit a one-out single off the wall in right-center. Blake Woods moved Dobbs to third with a two-out single, and Williamson was intentionally walked to load the bases. But Oliveros flied out to shallow right field to send the game into extra innings.
The Frogs had another chance in the 10th. Jose Lopez turned a two-strike count into a one-out walk. As Jason Rainey struck out, Lopez stole second and went to third on an error by the second baseman. But Merritt struck out on an outside pitch to strand Lopez.
Williamson hit a towering shot in the 11th, but it wrapped just around the foul pole. He then settled for a single that sent Woods to third with two outs. But Oliveros flied out to shallow left as the Frogs again left empty-handed.
“I knew it had a chance, but then it started tailing off,” Williamson said. “That’s the way it goes.”
AquaSox reliever Ramon Royce (3-5) allowed a walk a single and a two-run double to Rob Meyer in the 12th for the go-ahead runs.
Everett starter Ryan Ketchner allowed only two hits an 89-pitch, seven-inning dissection of the Volcanoes batting lineup in only his third start of the season. The left-hander allowed two singles in the third, but those two baserunners were the only ones allowed by Ketchner.
The AquaSox got the first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth.
Emmanuel Santana and Woods singled and each moved ahead a base when S-K starter Brad Hennessy threw a wild pitch behind Williamson’s back. Williamson grounded out, but Santana scored to give the Frogs a 1-0 lead.
Jason Rainey made it 2-0 in the seventh with a solo home run, his first with the AquaSox.
