AquaSox bombed by Bears

By JOHN MCDONALD

Herald Writer

EVERETT – You wouldn’t know it by the Northwest League statistics, but the Everett AquaSox ran into a hot-hitting ballclub Monday.

The Yakima Bears, who came into the game with the league’s lowest team batting average (.235), had 13 hits, including six extra-base hits, three of them home runs, in a 12-1 victory over the Frogs.

The Bears (14-13) snapped a three-game Everett winning streak and moved within a game of the Sox (15-12), tied for the lead the North Division.

Yakima had 14 hits, including seven extra-base hits, Sunday in a 9-8 loss at Vancouver, B.C.

"They swung the bats pretty well," said Darrin Garner, Everett’s acting manager. "But we didn’t make some pitches. They had some 0-2 hits."

The Sox also ran into a pitcher who seems to have their measure. Yakima starter Casey Kennedy (2-2), making his second start against Everett, shut out the Sox for 62/3 innings before giving up Everett’s only run on a home run by Wilfredo Quintana. In his previous start against the Sox, Kennedy held them to two runs, one earned, on five hits over 62/3 innings.

Reliever Willie Marin followed with 21/3 scoreless innings.

The Yakima pitching staff leads the league with a 2.94 earned run average.

The 11-run margin of victory represented Everett’s worst loss of the season. Their previous worst defeat was Wednesday’s 16-10 loss to Salem-Keizer.

The Bears banged out three straight extra-base hits off AquaSox starter Tony DeJesus in the third inning. Shane Victorino began the string with a triple into the left-field corner. Koyie Hill followed with a double off the wall in left-center. And Brennan King launched a home run to straightaway center.

Yakima’s Saul Soto also led off the fourth inning with a home run to left.

Those were the first two home runs of the season off DeJesus (2-2).

"Tony threw a lot of fastballs," Garner said, "and nothing off-speed. You’ve got to keep the hitters off-balance and that’s one thing he didn’t do. You’ve got to make the adjustment"

Victorino led off the fifth with a home run to right off Everett reliever Kevin Olore.

The Bears scored three more runs in the fifth on two singles, a walk and two Everett fielding errors.

Two of those runs were unearned as were all four the Bears scored with two outs in the sixth inning. Yakima had the bases loaded when Everett shortstop Guillermo Martinez fielded Rodney Van Buizen grounder behind second base. But his flip toss to second baseman Manny Crespo was off-target. Crespo tried to make a bare-hand catch, but couldn’t hold the ball. One run scored on the error and Soto followed with a three-run double to left.