Canadians jump ahead in eighth to down AquaSox
Published 7:12 am Friday, June 12, 2026
The Vancouver Canadians hit back-to-back RBI base hits in the eighth inning to pull ahead of the Everett AquaSox in a 4-2 win at Nat Bailey Stadium on Thursday. Everett (29-31) has lost the first three games of the six-game road series, and each of its past five overall.
AquaSox reliever Casey Hintz struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the eighth before hitting infielder Tucker Toman with a pitch. Hintz worked up an 0-2 count on outfielder Anthony Hernandez, but the 23-year-old sent a ball to deep left-center to score Toman and put the Canadians (26-34) ahead 3-2 with the RBI double. Outfielder J.R. Freely singled just past Everett second baseman Austin St. Laurent in the next at-bat to push it to 4-2.
AquaSox shortstop Felnin Celesten made it to second with two outs to make catcher Josh Caron represent the tying run at the plate in the top of the ninth, but Vancouver reliever Trace Baker notched his third strikeout of the frame to earn the save.
St. Laurent and outfielder Curtis Washington Jr. each went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and infielder Luis Suisbel with 3-f0r-4 with one run scored. Everett starter Chase Centala allowed four hits and two earned runs while striking out four and walking three across 4 1/3 innings.
The Canadians took an early 2-0 lead when Toman homered in the bottom of the first, scoring designated hitter Sam Shaw after his leadoff double. The AquaSox put at least two runners on base in each of the first three innings, but could not bring any of them home.
Washington Jr. finally cut it to 2-1 with his seventh home run of the season in the fourth, and Suisbel and St. Laurent hit back-to-back doubles in the fifth, the latter bringing in Suisbel to tie it 2-2.
Everett reliever Ben Hernandez walked the first batter he faced to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the fifth, but he induced an inning-ending double play to keep the game tied. Fellow reliever Christian Little pitched two perfect innings, notching three strikeouts between the sixth and seventh before Vancouver managed to jump ahead against Hintz in the eighth.
The AquaSox will aim to pick up their first win of the series on Friday with the first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. PT.
