AquaSox homer three times in tight win over Hillsboro

Published 10:25 pm Tuesday, July 28, 2026

The Everett AquaSox hit three solo home runs — two from catcher Luke Stevenson — to secure a 3-2 win against the Hillsboro Hops at Hops Ballpark on Tuesday.

Stevenson hit his first homer as the second batter of the game to give Everett (51-46 overall, 18-13 second-half) a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, getting all over a 1-0 pitch right down the middle.

AquaSox starter Adam Maier walked two batters in the bottom of the first inning, but struck out infielder JD Dix to strand the two runners for Hillsboro (43-54, 11-20). Maier went 1-2-3 in the second inning, and faced just three batters in the third after designated hitter Jose Mejia grounded into a double play to cancel out a walk to outfielder Slade Caldwell. The 24-year-old righty pitched another perfect frame in the fourth, but infielder Kenny Castillo broke up the no-hitter with a double in the fifth. Maier picked up two outs before Michael Hobbs took over, ending his night with just one hit and four walks allowed across 4 2/3 scoreless innings.

Before that, Stevenson hit his second solo shot in as many plate appearances to push the lead to 2-0 in the top of the fourth inning, but the rest of the AquaSox hitters had trouble getting anything going against Hops starter Kyle Ayers. Reliever Caden Grice took over in the top of the sixth, and Everett immediately put two runners in scoring position with a walk from infielder Luis Suisbel and a double from infielder Ricardo Cova, but Grice struck out each of the next three batters to strand them.

Hillsboro cut it to 2-1 with an RBI single from Carlos Virahonda in the sixth, and after AquaSox reliever Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman pitched a perfect inning in the seventh, Suisbel added insurance with a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning to make it 3-1.

Everett reliever Casey Hintz took over in the bottom of the eighth and allowed the first two Hops batters he faced to reach base, and one of them eventually scored on a passed ball to cut it to 3-2. Hintz struck out each of the next two batters to send it to the ninth, where he held off Hillsboro to earn his seventh save of the season.

The AquaSox return to face the Hops again on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. PT.