New-look AquaSox fall short in Brendan Donovan rehab game

Published 2:20 am Wednesday, July 22, 2026

EVERETT — Korbyn Dickerson knew his High-A debut would be special, marking the next step up the ladder in his early professional baseball career.

But when Dickerson pictured his first game with the Everett AquaSox, he never imagined it would be alongside a Major Leaguer.

As Dickerson, Ricardo Cova and Aiden Taurek took the field at Everett Memorial Stadium for the first time on Tuesday following promotions from Single-A Inland Empire, Seattle Mariners infielder Brendan Donovan made his latest rehab appearance — and first in Everett — while recovering from a groin injury that sidelined him in May.

Donovan led off for the AquaSox and lined up in left field right next to Dickerson in center. It was the first time either one played in Everett, but both are in very different stages of their careers.

“It’s awesome having a guy like Brendan Donovan playing with you and practicing with you,” Dickerson said. “He has a lot of wisdom, and I think I can learn a lot from that.”

While Donovan went 0-for-3 with one RBI, the new kids showed out with five hits between the three of them in a 13-8 loss to the Eugene Emeralds. The AquaSox (48-43 overall, 15-10 second-half) trimmed a 9-3 deficit into 9-7 heading into the ninth inning, but the Emeralds (55-36, 13-12) restored the gap with a four-run ninth to secure the series-opening win.

Dickerson went 2-for-4 with two RBI — including a solo home run in the fifth for his first High-A hit — and two runs scored. Cova went 2-for-5, and Taurek went 1-for-4 with a walk and one run scored. Beyond the players making their debuts, catcher Luke Stevenson went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, infielder Brandon Eike went 2-for-5 with two RBI and outfielder Carlos Jimenez went 2-for-4 with one run scored. Everett starter Adam Maier allowed eight hits and five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.

The three new players hit the ground running, which is exactly what the AquaSox will need following the departures of outfielder Jonny Farmelo, infielder Felnin Celesten and catcher Josh Caron, who were all promoted to Double-A Arkansas on Monday along with pitcher Lucas Kelly.

“There’s a lot of athleticism,” Everett manager Ryan Scott said. “We’re getting back pretty much exactly what we lost. We lost three really athletic position players, and those three guys coming here now up from Inland Empire, they’re all athletic. They’re all really good hitters. They’re going to put the bat on the ball, and as we saw tonight, they’re going to be able to kind of cause some damage out there and hopefully be able to help us score some runs.”

Each side scored a run in the first inning, with Eugene designated hitter Carlos Gutierrez and Eike each hitting an RBI single, but the Emeralds pulled ahead with a solo homer from infielder Walker Martin in the top of the second.

Eugene starter Cade Vernon pitched a 1-2-3 third inning, and Maier faced the minimum in the bottom of the frame after Emeralds infielder Jhonny Level grounded into a double play, with Cova fielding the grounder and flipping it to Austin St. Laurent at shortstop.

“This year, my defense is being really good for me,” Cova said, translated by AquaSox outfielder coach Edgardo Rivera. “The infield, the outfield, base running, everything. You learn something every day in this game, so I just try to stay positive and keep getting better in every area of the game.”

After Donovan popped out in foul territory in the top of the first, he made an impact in his next at-bat. St. Laurent doubled to lead off the bottom of the third inning, then stole third on the second pitch of Donovan’s at-bat. Donovan fell into a 1-2 count and fouled off a low pitch before taking a ball to even the count at 2-2. He finally put it in play with a fly ball to left field, and St. Laurent slid into home for the tying run.

It was the lone highlight for the 29-year-old, as he struck out looking in the fifth and grounded into a double play in the seventh before getting subbed out in the eighth. Donovan was not made available to the media after the game, but he is expected to stick around the team this week.

After Donovan tied it 2-2 with his sacrifice fly, Cova and Stevenson hit back-to-back singles and each advanced into scoring position on a balk to give Everett a prime opportunity to take the lead. However, Eike struck out and Dickerson hit a grounder up the middle that Eugene second baseman Isiah Barkett corralled to get the putout and prevent any runs from scoring.

The Emeralds took advantage immediately with three runs in the top of the fourth to take a 5-2 lead. Infielder Zander Darby hit a two-run shot, and outfielder Jose Astudillo blooped an RBI single later in the frame.

AquaSox reliever Jack White took over with one out in the top of the fifth, and he walked the first two batters he faced before allowing an RBI single from Darby to make it 6-2. White retired the next batter, but walked another to load the bases. Catcher Daniel Rogers worked a full count, but White dialed in for the inning-ending strikeout.

Cova smacked a double into right field for his second hit of the game in the bottom of the fifth, but he was ultimately stranded when Stevenson struck out in the next at-bat.

“I was just looking for my fastball,” Cova said. “First game here, I got the nerves going on, but yeah, I thank God I got a really good day on the field.”

Barkett hit Eugene’s third homer of the night with a two-run blast in the top of the sixth to extend the lead to 8-2, and reliever Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman walked the bases loaded before giving Martin a free pass to first on a full count to push it to 9-2.

Both Dickerson and Taurek joined Cova with their first High-A hits in the sixth inning. Dickerson did it in style, smacking a solo home run to the hill in right field to cut the deficit to 9-3, while Taurek singled up the middle two batters later.

“For me, it’s the same game that I was playing a couple days ago down in Low-A,” Dickerson said. “I thought I had a few good swings early in the game which didn’t get the result, and I was able to get the result on the home run. I got a pitch in my zone that I was ready for, and I was able to put a good swing on it.”

Dickerson sparked the eighth-inning rally in his next plate appearance to bring the AquaSox within two. After Stevenson led off with a double, Dickerson drove in his second run of the night with an RBI double to left. Jimenez reached on a dropped ball in the outfield to put runners on the corners, and Taurek walked to load the bases.

Infielder Luis Suisbel cut it to 9-6 with a two-run single to left, and Taurek scored from third on a wild pitch three batters later to bring Everett within two. Outfielder Anthony Donofrio worked a walk to load the bases with two outs in his lone plate appearance after subbing in for Donovan, which brought the go-ahead run to the plate. But Cova struck out swinging to end the inning.

In the end, it wouldn’t matter. The Emeralds scored four runs on Jose Geraldo in the ninth with a bases-loaded walk from Gutierrez and a base-clearing triple from outfielder Jakob Christian to bring in three more runs. Eike hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth, his 18th of the season, but it was not enough to get back into the contest.

Still, the AquaSox are encouraged by the early returns from their newest players.

“Super promising,” Dickerson said about the eighth-inning rally. “I mean, especially when you’re down by quite a few runs, it’s get the bat to the next person’s hands as fast as possible. And that was my goal right there, not trying to do too much, not trying to get big. Just pass it on to the next guy.”