AquaSox score two in 9th to beat Spokane 4-3
Published 10:30 pm Tuesday, June 23, 2015
SPOKANE — The Everett AquaSox scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning to come from behind and beat the Spokane Indians 4-3 on Tuesday night.
The ninth inning didn’t start out well for the AquaSox. Alex Jackson was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple. Trailing 3-2, the AquaSox were just two outs away from their second defeat of the season, but the offense rallied. Luis Liberato reached on an error by the shortstop and advanced to second base moments later on a single by Drew Jackson. Logan Taylor followed the single with a strikeout.
With two outs, Ryan Uhl delivered the biggest hit of the game, a two-run line-drive single to center field that scored Liberato and Drew Jackson to give the AquaSox a 4-3 lead, which proved to be the final score.
Lance Thonvold pitched the bottom of the ninth inning for the AquaSox to pick up the save.
Everett had its chances to strike first in the top of the first inning. After Jordan Cowan walked and Braden Bishop was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, Johan Quevedo singled to left field, but Cowan was thrown out at home plate. Spokane retired the next two batters, Corey Simpson and Alex Jackson, to retire the side.
Spokane didn’t waste its chance in the bottom of the first inning, scoring what proved to be the game’s only run of the first six innings.
Both starting pitchers, Everett’s Luiz Gohara and Spokane’s Peter Fairbanks, pitched well. Gohara went six inning and Fairbanks went five. Each gave up just three hits.
The run Spokane scored off of Gohara was unearned, so his earned-run average is still at 0.00 for the season.
Everett took the lead in the top of the seventh inning, getting one run on a passed ball and another on an RBI single by Taylor.
Spokane answered back in the bottom of the eighth inning with a two-run home run from LaDarious Clark setting the stage for the ninth-inning drama.
Clark’s home run was Spokane’s only extra-base hit of the game.
With the win, Everett improved to 5-1 this season and is the early front runner in the Northwest League’s North Division.
The two teams meet again on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. for the second game of a three-game series.
