AquaSox comeback bids fall short against Eugene

Published 11:55 pm Wednesday, June 25, 2025

EVERETT — The Everett AquaSox kept things interesting until the very end.

Despite cutting two separate four-run deficits in half against the Eugene Emeralds at Funko Field on Wednesday, the AquaSox ultimately fell 9-4 for their fourth loss in five games since clinching the first-half title in the Northwest League.

AquaSox manager Zach Vincej does not sense his group easing up after securing a spot in September’s Northwest League Championship Series, pointing to this recent stretch as part of the “ebbs and flows” of the game.

“It’s just all a part of it,” Vincej said. “I trust this group more than anything. I’m super proud of how they played, and just sometimes it goes the opposite direction.”

Everett’s second-half lineup looks different following the promotions of Lazaro Montes and Michael Arroyo on Monday, but Luis Suisbel took the first step in filling that void with a two-run homer in the sixth to cut the Everett deficit to 4-2. After Freuddy Batista lined a single to right field, Suisbel connected on a pitch down the middle for his 13th homer of the season.

Suisbel replaced Montes in the clean-up spot, moving up one place in the order from the first half of the season. The 22-year-old Venezuelan said he hit fourth while with Low-A Modesto last season, so this spot is nothing new for him.

Suisbel has been a productive part of the lineup all season. His .273 average ranks second on the team behind Batista (.311) among players with at least 30 games, and his 13 home runs and 40 RBI now lead the current roster.

Now in a larger role, Suisbel is focusing on remaining consistent at the plate.

“Sometimes we will (have) bad moments, but the important (thing) for me is to be consistent,” Suisbel said. “So now, we won the first-half championship, and so for the future we need to (make) a little adjustment to get a good moment for a championship.”

What adjustment would that be?

“I don’t think we have (a) big adjustment, it’s just confidence,” Suisbel said. “We have a great team, and we can be good.”

Immediately following Suisbel’s home run, Eugene’s Luke Shliger responded with a two-run blast to right field off Everett’s Allan Saathoff to restore the four-run lead in the top of the seventh.

Down 6-2 in the bottom of the frame, Everett made up some ground with a rally sparked by a leadoff double from Milkar Perez. Carson Jones walked after Perez reached third on a wild pitch, setting up back-to-back RBI singles from Charlie Pagliarini and Tai Peete to cut it to 6-4.

Peete stole second to put the tying run in scoring position, but Batista struck out and Suisbel — once again in a position to do some damage representing the go-ahead run — grounded out to end the inning. He fouled off an inside pitch before slapping an outside pitch to second base, throwing his bat down in frustration on his way to first.

“I want to help the team,” Suisbel said. “In that moment, I want to hit (and drive in) runs, but that happened. This is baseball, and tomorrow we have another opportunity.”

On the mound, things were dicey right away for Everett starter Taylor Dollard, who allowed the first three batters to reach base via single, bunt and hit by pitch to load the bags with no outs in the top of the first. Despite the early jam, Dollard retired the next three batters — two via strikeout — to strand all three runners.

It was the third appearance of the season for the 26-year-old righty, who is working back from a labrum surgery that kept him out the entire 2024 season. The 2020 fifth-round pick last played for Everett in 2021. He was named the 2022 Texas League Pitcher of the Year playing for Double-A Arkansas with a 16-2 record and 2.25 ERA over 144 innings pitched.

Dollard made three appearances with Triple-A Tacoma in 2023 before his injury, and underwent surgery in June 2023. Now easing his way back into action, Dollard feels he’s trending in the right direction.

“I was at a really high level, and it’s not easy to get back to that level,” Dollard said. “And so it’s just taking time, making sure everything feels good along the way. … I keep putting my head down, keep working. I’ll keep showing up every day, give it everything I got. I know it’s in there. It just might take a little bit longer than I would have liked to, and that’s okay.”

The Emeralds opened the scoring with back-to-back solo home runs from Jack Payton and Charlie Szykowny in the top of the third inning to jump ahead 2-0. Just two pitches after Payton’s homer to left-center, Szykowny snuck one past the right field foul pole.

“I was executing pitches that I (wanted) to throw, and I was impressed with the swings that they took,” Dollard said. “They beat me, and that happens, and it’s part of the game, but I didn’t think I lost it at all.”

Shaddon Peavyhouse took the bump after Dollard allowed six hits and two runs through three innings, and the Emeralds tacked on another run to make it 3-0 in the fifth. Zane Zielinski lined a two-out double to center before Dayson Croes brought him around with an RBI single up the middle. Payton extended the lead to 4-0 with a sacrifice fly in the next inning.

After the AquaSox comeback attempts fell short, the Emeralds tagged Everett reliever Elijah Dale with three runs in the top of the ninth to extend their lead to 9-4. Dale retired the first two batters he faced, then allowed the next five to reach base via a single, a walk, a triple and two more walks. Of 33 pitches, just 15 were strikes.

Perez, an infielder, took the mound for his second pitching appearance of the season to get the final out. His first pitch to Quinn McDaniel went 47 miles per hour for ball one, but he turned up the heat to lukewarm with a 67 mph toss that McDaniel popped up to end the inning.

“He’s shown in the last couple years that he can throw strikes,” Vincej said of Perez. “And that’s all we needed in that situation.”

Suisbel’s rally-ending groundout in the seventh proved to be the final chance for the AquaSox, who went six up, six down across the eighth and ninth innings, but Vincej was pleased with the effort.

“That shows our character of our team. We compete all the way until the last out,” Vincej said. “We’ve had some comeback wins this season as well, so it doesn’t surprise me. And yeah, it’s just part of it. Part of the learning curve of just going out and competing.

“(I’m) never gonna think my players don’t fight until the end. They always do.”