AquaSox execute big comeback against Hillsboro
Published 11:26 pm Wednesday, July 29, 2026
The Everett AquaSox staged a massive comeback across the eighth and ninth innings to win 9-8 against the Hillsboro Hops at Hops Stadium on Wednesday.
Everett (52-46 overall, 19-13 second-half) trailed 8-2 after seven innings fo the Northwest League baseball game, but all three outfielders drove in a run in the eighth to cut the deficit in half. Carlos Jimenez scored catcher Luke Stevenson with an RBI single, and Korbyn Dickerson drove in a run with a groundout before Anthony Donofrio hit a sacrifice fly to make it 8-5. After reliever Sam Whiting stranded two runners in the bottom of the frame, the AquaSox completed their comeback.
Infielder Ricardo Cova got on base with a one-out double, and Stevenson cut it to 8-7 with a home run to right-center. Infielder Brandon Eike doubled right after, and a wild pitch allowed him to advance to third. A Jimenez groundout brought Everett down to its final out, but Dickerson tied it 8-8 with a line drive RBI single to center field.
Designated hitter Aiden Taurek completed the comeback in the next at-bat, ripping a double to left field to score Dickerson and take a 9-8 lead. Donofrio grounded out right after to send it to the bottom of the ninth.
Hillsboro (43-55, 11-21) immediately put the tying run on base with a leadoff single from catcher Carlos Virahonda, but AquaSox reliever Christian Little struck out infielder JD Dix before getting designated hitter Yassel Soler to ground into a game-ending double play.
Despite its win probability sinking as low as 0.6%, according to the MiLB log, Everett ultimately won the game.
Taurek went 3-for-4 with two RBI to lead the way. Cova and Donofrio each had two hits, and Stevenson and Dickerson each drove in two runs. AquaSox starter Chase Centala struck out six batters and allowed five earned runs across 4 1/3 innings, but Pedro Da Costa Lemos, Whiting and Little allowed a combined four hits, one run and no walks across the final four innings.
Taurek opened the scoring with an RBI ground-rule double in the top of the second, but the Hops took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on a two-run double from infielder Kenny Castillo. Everett infielder Carter Dorighi tied it 2-2 with an RBI single in the fifth, but Hillsboro scored five runs in the bottom of the frame to pull away, highlighted by a three-run shot from Soler. A sacrifice fly from infielder Jose Mejia pushed the Hops lead to 8-2 in the sixth.
The AquaSox picked up their second win in a row after storming back in the final two innings, and the series continues on Thursday at 6:35 p.m. PT.
