Speed leads AquaSox to 4-3 win over Hops
Published 6:39 pm Wednesday, July 8, 2015
EVERETT — As one of the Northwest League’s top offensive teams through the first month of the 2015 season, the Everett AquaSox have scored their league-high 123 runs in a variety of ways.
On Wednesday, the Sox used their team speed and aggressive but calculated baserunning to set up their opportunities in a 4-3 win over the Hillsboro Hops on Kids Day at Everett Memorial Stadium.
Everett (13-8) stole three bases on Wednesday, two in quick succession by Drew Jackson in the second inning that resulted in a sacrifice fly off the bat of Arturo Nieto that plated the Sox’s second run and broke an early 1-1 tie.
The AquaSox never relinquished the lead, tagging up on fly balls with runners on second, executing hit-and-run plays and coming through in clutch situations en route to the win.
“We like to put pressure on defenses and try to make things happen that way,” AquaSox manager Rob Mummau said. “We like our guys to be able to utilize their speed to go first to third or tag up and things like that. When you have speed on a team you can do some different things.”
Left fielder Corey Simpson, who also drove in the Sox’s first run of the day with a single in the first inning, drove in Jordan Cowan with a sacrifice fly in the third. The play was set up by Cowan taking third base on a flyout to center field off the bat of Logan Taylor.
When Cowan reached on a throwing error with one out in the fifth, Taylor delivered a perfect hit-and-run single to right-center field, right through the hole vacated by the covering second baseman, that advanced Cowan to third.
Simpson, who also drove in three runs in Everett’s 7-4 win on Tuesday night, singled to left to score Cowan for his third RBI on Wednesday.
“Corey’s doing a really good job of keeping his two-strike approach and coming through in big situations for us,” Mummau said.
Hillsboro (11-10) scored twice in the seventh inning off Everett reliever Taylor Byrd, but Troy Scott (4-1) kept the tying run off the board by inducing a 5-2 fielder’s choice and striking out pinch-hitter Fernery Ozuna to end the bases-loaded threat.
“That was a huge spot, with one out and the bases loaded,” Mummau said. “Troy threw strikes and let his sinker do the work in the zone.”
Kyle Wilcox pitched a perfect ninth for his third save, and sent the Sox off on a five-game road trip to Boise as winners of back-to-back games.
