Emerson walks off Tri-City to extend AquaSox win streak

EVERETT — Working with a 3-0 count and runners on second and third at Funko Field on Saturday, Colt Emerson had the game at his fingertips.

The Everett AquaSox were tied 2-2 with the Tri-City Dust Devils in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. Emerson received the take sign, and let strike one sail down the middle of the zone. He didn’t like the placement of the next pitch, and took strike two.

“It was a good pitch to hit, but I didn’t really want it,” Emerson said. “Next, I knew a fastball was probably going to be coming in, you know? They can’t walk me in that situation.”

With the red-hot Michael Arroyo on deck, Tri-City pitcher Sam Ryan likely agreed he couldn’t afford to walk the bases loaded. He served up a fastball right down the middle, and Emerson sailed it into left field for single to lift the AquaSox to a 3-2 walk-off win.

On Harry Potter theme night, Emerson worked his magic.

“It’s what he does,” AquaSox manager Zach Vincej said. “He works counts, he has a good chance of putting the ball in play, and hard too. So I like my chances there.”

Emerson was quick to credit Charlie Pagliarini, who popped up a ball that just managed to land in fair territory behind first base, sending Carson Jones to third base before Emerson came to bat.

While Emerson drove in the winning run, Freuddy Batista plated the other two with a pair of RBI-doubles. The first came in the bottom of the second following a Lazaro Montes walk. Batista worked a nine-pitch at-bat that ended with a double to the left field gap, tying the game 1-1.

“Just trying to stick to my plan, look for a fastball,” Batista said. “Turned out I got a good fastball, put the barrel on it, (and I got) good results.”

Batista struck again in the fourth to give Everett a 2-1 lead. After fouling off a 1-0 pitch just above the zone, the 25-year-old catcher worked the count to 3-1 before getting a pitch around the same spot.

Following his process, he tried to send a line drive up the middle, but instead pulled it to the left field corner. It worked either way, scoring Tai Peete from second.

In his return from an undisclosed injury that held him out since May 25, Batista was showing anything but rust. Vincej credits the Santo Domingo native’s experience in High-A ball, giving him the ability to pick up where he left off in his second season with the team.

“His leadership is really shining,” Vincej said. “He’s a great, great player. He works hard, and he’s just a good teammate, so I think he’s reaping all the benefits of what he’s been doing.”

Before Batista’s RBI hits, Anthony Scull opened the scoring for Tri-City with a leadoff home run off Everett starter Evan Truitt in the top of the first inning. Not wanting to walk the first batter on a full count, Truitt tested Scull with a pitch inside the zone. Scull took advantage.

“He got it, it’s okay,” Batista said. “And then he made the adjustment with the breaking balls and the fastballs in the zone.”

Truitt shook it off and allowed just three more hits and two walks through five innings of work. The Dust Devils only advanced past first base once more. The 22-year-old righty notched just one strikeout, but induced plenty of grounders and pop-ups to keep things steady.

Truitt was in line for the decision when reliever Elijah Dale took the bump to start the sixth inning, but he followed Truitt’s lead and allowed a solo home run to the first batter he faced — this time Ben Gobbel — to tie it 2-2.

The bats went quiet for Everett in the sixth and seventh inning, and while Arroyo and Montes hit back-to-back singles to start a mini-rally in the eighth, they were ultimately stranded. Arroyo finished 2-for-3, extending his hitting streak to 11 games.

Aided by a diving catch by Peete in center field in the top of the seventh, Ben Hernandez tossed two hitless innings with three strikeouts to set up Stefan Raeth for a clean ninth.

Then Emerson clinched Everett’s fifth win in the past six games. With Vancouver’s 6-1 win against Spokane, the AquaSox remain one game behind the top of the Northwest League standings at 33-29.

“We just don’t give up on this team,” Emerson said. “We just love playing for each other. … Just playing as a team, playing winning baseball is really just what it comes down to.”