By JOHN MCDONALD
Herald Writer
EVERETT – The Everett AquaSox suffered a lot of wounds Wednesday. Trouble is, most of them were self-inflicted.
AquaSox pitchers walked 14 batters and Everett committed a season-high five errors in a 16-10 loss to the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes.
On a night when Seattle Mariners catcher Dan Wilson was present, Everett’s pitching and defense were absent.
Wilson made a rehab start for the AquaSox. He homered and walked and scored as the AquaSox offense scored more than four runs in a game for the first time in six games.
"It was an ugly game," Everett manager Terry Pollreisz said. "We didn’t defend well. We didn’t pitch well. But we hit better."
Everett pitchers surrendered 12 hits and the five errors led to six unearned runs as the AquaSox (12-10) lost for the fifth time in six games.
The game was played before 4,384 fans, the second-largest crowd of the season. The AquaSox drew 4,412 on June 26, the night Seattle pitcher Freddie Garcia made a rehab start in Everett.
Everett’s previous high for errors in a game was three. They’ve made two or less in 20 of 22 games.
None of the first four Everett pitchers was immune to the plague of hits, walks and errors. Starter Tony DeJesus (2-1) gave up six runs on seven hits and three walks in 32/3 innings. Reliever Hawkeye Wayne walked all four batters he faced. Reliever Rett Johnson was the victim of three errors in one inning by the defense. And reliever Erick Swanson walked five in an inning and a third, three of whom came around to score.
Steve Kent, the fourth Everett reliever, was the first AquaSox pitcher not to give up a run. John Butler, the sixth and last Everett hurler, was the only AquaSox pitcher not to give up a walk.
Everett pitchers came into the contest averaging 3.6 walks per game.
Eight of the nine batters in the Salem-Keizer lineup drew at least one walk. Trey Lunsford walked four times. Three other S-K batters walked twice each.
Seven of the nine had at least one hit. Lance Niekro, the son of former major league pitcher Joe Niekro, was the only Volcanoes player without a walk – but he had three hits. Three others had two hits apiece.
The AquaSox, who averaged two runs on four hits over their last five games at Portland, broke out offensively in the sixth inning. The Sox had four straight hits to start the inning, capped by Manny Crespo’s three-run home run.
The AquaSox committed three errors in the fifth inning, leading to five unearned runs. The first two Salem-Keizer batters, Ed Maldonado and Jason Ellison, reached on errors. Bryan Gann singled to drive in Maldonado. After Niekro singled and Lunsford walked to load the bases, Jason Pekar grounded into a force play at second. But second baseman Manny Crespo pulled his foot off the base before the out could be recorded for another error. A run scored on that play, another came home on a sacrifice fly by Derek Bell and two more scored on a triple by Mark Walker.
Wilson scored Everett’s first two runs. He homered with two outs in the first, then walked to lead off the fourth and scored on a single by Brett Higgins when the left fielder fumbled the ball in the outfield for an error.
The AquaSox scored two more runs in the inning, one on a bases-loaded walk to Manny Crespo and another on a double play grounder.
Four of the first six Salem-Keizer batters had hits off DeJesus. Everett got out of a one-out, first-and-third jam in the first with a double play. But the Volcanoes took the lead with two runs in the second.
Pekar led off with a double to right-center, but had to hold on Bell’s infield single to shortstop. An out later, the Volcanoes loaded the bases on Josh Cook’s walk.
Pekar scored and Maldonado reached safely when third baseman Blake Bone mishandled Maldonado’s grounder. Bell tagged and scored on Ellison’s sacrifice fly to center.
DeJesus struck out the side in the third inning, but Salem-Keizer drove him from the game in the fourth. Walker led off with a double down the left field line, went to third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly by Maldonado. Ellison walked and scored from first when right fielder Chuck Lopez fielded Gann’s single and threw the ball wide of the cutoff man for an error. Gann took second on the error and scored on a single by Niekro.
Niekro scored the first of two runs on bases-loaded walks as relief pitcher Hawkeye Wayne walked all four batters he faced.
Rett Johnson finally retired the side, inducing Cook to ground into a fielder’s choice forceout at second.
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