AquaSox close first half with thud against Hillsboro
Published 12:30 am Friday, June 19, 2026
EVERETT — Exactly one year ago, the Everett AquaSox celebrated an 8-3 road win against the Spokane Indians, which clinched the 2025 Northwest League first-half title.
Colt Emerson, now a member of the Seattle Mariners, had a hit and a walk. Fellow top Mariners prospects Lazaro Montes (3-for-5, 3 RBI) and Michael Arroyo (2-for-4, 1 RBI) had big days at the plate, tormenting opposing pitchers as they had all season. While all three would soon depart for Double-A Arkansas, AquaSox fans had the promise of Northwest League Championship games in September to look forward to, which would ultimately culminate in the team’s first championship since 2010.
That excitement from last June felt like a distant memory a year later, when Everett wrapped its 2026 first-half schedule with an 11-4 loss to the Hillsboro Hops at Everett Memorial Stadium on Thursday.
AquaSox starter Chase Centala lasted just 1/3 of an inning, allowing the first five batters to reach base. The Hops hit a pair of two-run doubles and an RBI single to take a 5-0 lead by the time Centala got his first out, but outfielder Jakey Josepha crushed a two-run homer to right-center during the next at-bat to push the lead to 7-0. Centala’s night ended there, and Jose Geraldo entered to pick up the next two outs.
“Leading off the game with two walks is not ideal,” Everett manager Ryan Scott said. “Pitch count just got up there pretty high, and I mean, he left some pitches up and they hit some balls and found some holes. Sometimes that’s baseball, it’s going to happen, and really what we’re going to tell these guys — what I’ve always told these guys all year — is how are you going to respond to it?”
With the loss, the AquaSox dropped to 33-33. A first-half title was never up for grabs — the Eugene Emeralds (42-24) clinched that on June 9 — but Everett hoped to enter the second half with momentum after winning four of their previous five games entering Thursday.
The Mariners’ top three prospects in Everett — outfielder Jonny Farmelo (No. 70 in MLB Pipeline; No. 6 for Seattle), shortstop Felnin Celesten (No. 97 MLB; No. 7 SEA) and catcher Luke Stevenson (No. 8 SEA) — all sat out on Thursday. Scott wanted to give them each a day off before the record resets on Friday and let them start the second half fresh. Given Hillsboro’s first-inning onslaught, they likely would not have made much of a difference anyway.
The Hops bolstered their lead to 9-0 in the top of the second with an RBI double from catcher Carlos Virahonda and an RBI single from designated hitter Kenny Castillo off the right field wall.
AquaSox outfielder Carlos Jimenez appeared to spark the offense with a double to lead off the third inning, and he even timed a steal to third perfectly, but catcher Josh Caron popped a pitch up right as Jimenez slid into the bag. Hillsboro first baseman Brady Counsell secured the pop out and doubled up Jimenez, who could not return to second in time.
“Caron’s in a count (1-1) where he can’t necessarily take a strike, and (Jimenez) got himself a good jump,” Scott said. “When he gets a good jump, it’s more or less when you’re trying to take third, try to peek in a little bit and see what’s going on with the ball, and Caron just so happened to pop it up to the infield, and it’s really hard to get back to second.”
Everett left two runners stranded in the fourth, but finally got on the board with a solo shot from Jimenez in the fifth to cut it to 9-1. Caron followed that up with a single, and designated hitter Matthew Ellis brought him home with a double to right field. Ellis reached third on a wild pitch, and a walk from infielder Brandon Eike set up infielder Axel Sanchez for a sacrifice fly to cut it to 9-3.
Caron and Eike each ended the first half tied for second in the Northwest League for home runs with 11 each. Both players spent the entire 2025 season with the AquaSox, helping the team to the 2025 Northwest League Championship, and both have seen their production take a massive step in 2026.
On top of the homers, each improved their batting average and OPS by significant margins — Caron from .197 average and .600 OPS to .253 and .845; Eike from .208 and .640 to .280 and .857 — and Caron has more RBI in 49 games this season (40) than he totaled in 79 games last year (26). Eike ranks top 10 in the league for both average and OPS, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Scott praised Caron’s ability to produce the offensive numbers he’s had while managing his other responsibilities behind the plate, such as calling pitches, receiving, throwing and blocking. Meanwhile, Eike has jumped back and forth between first and third base, and Scott appreciates his versatility and preparation.
Neither player could point to a specific mechanic or ‘fix’ that led to their jump in production. Having a full year of High-A experience certainly helps, but the compounded experience of learning what works for each of them as they develop has been the biggest key for each.
“I just learn a lot,” Eike said. “The more you play, the better you get your routine, and I’ve just kind of found what works for me. … It’s kind of every day or every couple weeks, you’re tinkering with things. Just kind of figuring out what works for you, and then just trusting that and trying not to overcomplicate things.”
Added Caron: “Every time I come to the park and play a game, (I’m) just having a clear plan of what I’m doing and giving myself maybe a little bit more grace at times.”
Barring a promotion to Double-A Arkansas, Caron and Eike will be among the top contributors looking to bring Everett back to the championship series with a second-half title. The plan to do so is boiled down pretty simply.
Offensively, the AquaSox want to be the first to score. If the reasoning behind that concept was not clear enough, let the first inning on Thursday be Exhibit A.
Of course, every player who steps to the plate is trying to get on base, drive in a run, do whatever possible to pass the bat. As a team, Everett did that pretty well in the first half, leading the Northwest League in home runs (84), RBI (354) and walks (357). The key to maximizing those results and grinding out more wins will be staying on top of preparation and being “ready to go from pitch one,” according to Caron.
The AquaSox will also try to tax opposing pitchers by extending at-bats early.
“We’re just trying to get those (opposing) starters to throw more pitches,” Scott said after Wednesday’s 5-3 win. “So the more we can make those guys throw like we did tonight, like (Hillsboro starter Wellington Aracena) threw 30 pitches in the first inning, it’s going to hopefully shorten up his outing a little bit. … If we can get a starter out of the game early, and start stringing a few together, get some walks, get some guys on base, find a way to pump runs across, it just really sets the tone for the night.”
From a pitching perspective, the philosophy will stay the same: Attack the strike zone, and win as many 0-0 counts as possible. Everett’s pitchers allowed the fewest walks (213) and posted the lowest WHIP (1.38) in the league, but also had the second-fewest strikeouts (616) and the highest batting average against (.258). While the AquaSox allowed the most runs (354), the pitching staff had the second-fewest earned runs (295) behind only Eugene (276), so the defense and errors will need to be cleaned up as well.
“I think the biggest thing is just getting ourselves into good counts,” Caron said. “And you do that by winning your 0-0 counts and getting ahead in the count. I think good things happen every time we do that. It doesn’t matter who’s in the box, we’re going to challenge them.”
The Hops extended the lead to 10-3 in the top of the seventh when Josepha grounded into a force out at third with the bases loaded, reaching first as shortstop Kayson Cunningham scored. Hillsboro picked up another run in the eighth when infielder Yassel Soler scored on a passed ball. Everett outfielder Curtis Washington Jr., fresh off his cup of coffee with the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday, hit a solo homer to center to cut it to 11-4 in the bottom of the eighth.
On Friday, it will be a clean slate. Unlike last year, the AquaSox do not have a ticket punched to the championship. The question now is if they can do so by August.
