AquaSox tie Spokane atop second-half standings
Published 11:00 am Monday, July 20, 2026
The Everett AquaSox won two of their three games against the Spokane Indians over the weekend to tie Spokane for first place in the Northwest League standings at 15-9 apiece. Everett (48-42 overall) downed Spokane 11-3 on the road on Friday before losing on an extra-inning walk-off in a 6-5 loss on Saturday.
The Frogs bounced back with an offensive explosion on Sunday, however, winning 21-3 with six homers, two of which came from center fielder Carlos Jimenez.
Friday’s game
The Everett AquaSox earned a tie for first place in the Northwest League, defeating the Spokane Indians 11-3 at Avista Stadium on Friday night during the first game back from the MLB All-Star Break.
Everett opened the scoring in the top of the second inning, taking a 2-0 lead courtesy of Brandon Eike and Josh Caron. Leading off the inning with a double was Caron, and bringing home the pair of runs was Eike, who hit a two-run home run to left-center field for his 16th homer of the season. Each team earned a run in the third inning, making the score 3-1 as Everett’s Felnin Celesten hit an RBI double and Spokane’s Robert Calaz scored on an error.
The AquaSox surged for another four runs across the fourth and fifth innings for a 7-1 advantage. Anthony Donofrio brought home the Frogs’ fourth run with an RBI single, and three Everett batters brought home runs in the fifth as Luis Suisbel hit an RBI single and each of Jonny Farmelo and Luke Stevenson drew a bases-loaded walk.
Each team plated a pair of runs in the sixth, keeping the Frogs’ six-run lead intact. Following Caron’s second double of the game, Carlos Jimenez crushed a two-run home run to right-center field for his 11th homer of the year. For the Indians, Tanner Thach hit an RBI single and Kelvin Hidalgo hit a sacrifice fly. Spokane’s scoring efforts concluded at that point as the AquaSox pitching staff held them out of the scoring column for the remainder of the game.
Jimenez brought home Everett’s final two runs in the top of the eighth, notching a two-run double to end the evening’s scoring efforts. Pitching with an 11-3 lead in hand, AquaSox right-hander Gabriel Sosa struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure the Frogs’ victory.
From the mound, AquaSox starting pitcher Chase Centala dealt three innings of one-hit baseball, allowing one run while striking out two. Left-hander Reid Easterly added two scoreless innings of work, and right-hander Jose Geraldo struck out three in two shutout innings.
Caron led all AquaSox batters with four base hits, raising his batting average in 2026 to .272 while scoring four times. Jimenez collected three hits and four RBIs, and Farmelo walked three times. In total, the Frogs’ offense tallied 15 base hits, and each of the nine batters in manager Ryan Scott’s lineup collected a hit.
Saturday’s game
The Everett AquaSox fell to the Spokane Indians 6-5 on Saturday night at Avista Stadium, dropping the second game of the three-game series in 10 innings.
Both teams found a scoring outburst in the game’s opening frame as Spokane held a 4-3 lead upon the conclusion of the first inning. The teams traded three-run home runs — Everett’s courtesy of Brandon Eike and Spokane’s courtesy of Ethan Hedges — to open the scoring, and the Indians’ fourth run came as Jacob Humphrey hit an RBI single after Tanner Thach doubled.
AquaSox pitchers Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman and Taylor Dollard kept the Indians out of the scoring column for three innings, allowing their team to sneak ahead 5-4 in the top of the fifth. Axel Sanchez scored the tying run by singling and crossing home plate on a wild pitch, and Josh Caron broke the tie by hitting his Northwest League-leading 19th home run of the season.
Roldy Brito tied the game for Spokane in the bottom of the seventh, knotting things 5-5. After singling and advancing to third base via a wild pitch and stolen base, Brito crossed home plate to score the tying run as another wild pitch was delivered by the AquaSox. The tie held through the end of the ninth inning, sending the game to extra innings as Casey Hintz threw two shutout innings and struck out three.
Spokane ultimately emerged victorious in the bottom of the 10th inning, securing a walk-off 6-5 victory. Thach reached on a fielding error to place runners on the corners with no outs, and Humphrey hit into a fielder’s choice that allowed the winning run to cross home plate.
Sunday’s game
Powered by a 17-hit offensive performance featuring six home runs, the Everett AquaSox ran past the Spokane Indians 21-3 Sunday afternoon at Avista Stadium to secure a series victory in the three-game set.
Everett struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Luke Stevenson walked and each of Carlos Jimenez and Felnin Celesten singled, loading the bases with no outs. Capitalizing on the opportunity was Matthew Ellis, whose RBI groundout brought home Stevenson to open the scoring. Spokane broke scoring ground in the bottom half of the frame, tying the game as Tanner Thach hit an RBI single.
Anthony Donofrio launched a solo home run for his sixth long ball of the season, breaking the tie in favor of the AquaSox during the top of the second. Furthering the Frogs’ lead in the next frame was Luis Suisbel, who hit a two-run home run to left-center field after Ellis walked for his 10th long ball of the season. Extending the AquaSox lead to five runs were Carter Dorighi and Jo Oyama, who each scored on groundouts.
Spokane chipped away at their deficit in the bottom of the third, plating one run to make the score 6-2 as Ethan Hedges teed off for a solo home run with one out. However, the teams exchanged runs in the fourth to make the score 7-3. The AquaSox equalized the impact of Hedges’ homer in the top of the fourth as Celesten scored on another RBI groundout hit by Ellis, and Kelvin Hidalgo hit a solo home run to right field for the Indians.
Everett picked up six more runs in the top of the sixth, giving itself a six-run lead. Jimenez launched a solo home run for his 12th long ball of the year, and Eike added an RBI single into left field after Celesten tripled to score the frame’s second run. Donofrio contributed a two-run single to the rally, and Dorighi hit into an RBI groundout. Scoring the inning’s final run to make things 13-3 was Donofrio, who crossed home plate on a wild pitch.
The AquaSox went big again in the seventh, bringing home another eight runs to surge ahead 21-3. Ellis drilled a two-run, opposite-field home run to open the inning’s scoring, and Stevenson hit a grand slam for the inning’s second blast. Jimenez then hit a solo homer for his second long ball of the game — and third AquaSox blast of the seventh inning — and Celesten scored again on Ellis’ third RBI groundout of the game to conclude the inning’s scoring efforts.
Holding the Indians out of the scoring column across the final four innings of the game was right-hander Walter Ford, who locked down the Frogs’ 21-3 win. Ford struck out three while walking none and allowing just two hits, earning his first save of the season.
