Canadians wallop AquaSox 10-2

Published 10:49 pm Friday, July 17, 2015

EVERETT — Coming into the game, the Vancouver Canadians were sixth in the eight-team Northwest League in home runs and dead last in hits, perhaps explaining why the Canadians had the league’s second-worst record at 10-18 and sit last in the four-team North Division.

But against the Everett AquaSox on Friday night, Vancouver put on a slugging display with 17 hits, including three home runs and four other hits for extra bases, and the result was a 10-2 Canadians victory on a beautiful summer evening at Everett Memorial Stadium.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a game like that,” said Vancouver manager John Schneider with a grin. “They swung (the bats) great. We’ve been trying to preach that aggressive approach to them all year and tonight was kind of a breakout game for a lot of guys, so it was nice to see.”

Particularly troublesome was Vancouver first baseman Justin Atkinson, who was 4-for-6 with two home runs and three runs scored. He reached base a fifth time on an infield error.

The outcome gave Vancouver a sweep of the three-game series, following 5-4 wins on both Wednesday and Thursday.

“A sweep is always nice,” Schneider said. “We were coming off a tough nine-game losing streak (before coming to Everett).”

Vancouver struck first with two runs in the first inning. With one out Gunnar Heidt dropped a soft single into right field and Atkinson followed by sending a 2-2 pitch over the fence in right-center field.

Everett countered with one run in the bottom of the first on a one-out infield single by Drew Jackson, a stolen base combined with a throwing error, and an infield out.

The Sox were still within 2-1 heading to the fifth, but the Canadians broke the game open with three runs in that inning, followed by two more in the sixth, another two in the eighth and one in the ninth.

Sean Hurley launched a three-run homer to right in the fifth, and Vancouver combined two doubles with a two-error infield grounder to score twice an inning later. In the eighth, Atkinson blasted another two-run HR, and a bases-loaded walk in the ninth pushed across the final run.

Vancouver starter Jonathan Harris, a first-round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in June (the 29th selection overall), held Everett to an unearned run through four innings before departing.

“He’s on a little bit of a limited pitch count right now coming out of the draft,” Schneider said. “He got his work in and he’s been like that for the whole season, so he’s all good.”

Three other Canadian pitchers held the Sox to only one more run — Logan Taylor’s long home run to center in the sixth — over the final five innings.

Everett starting pitcher Lane Ratliff left the game after the first inning. According to Everett manager Rob Mummau, Ratliff reached a pitch count for one inning in the first.

The Sox were again without outfielder Alex Jackson, who sat out his second full game with a sore left hand. Jackson’s availability for tonight’s series-opening game at Hillsboro “is still up in the air,” Mummau said.