EVERETT – Shawn Nottingham is back to his dominating self.
The Everett AquaSox ace was nearly perfect Friday night, leading the AquaSox to a 6-1 victory over the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes before a crowd of 3,679 at Everett Memorial Stadium.
“I had my stuff today, I guess,” Nottingham said. “I felt like I did at the beginning of the season. I had an extra day off because we had an off day and my arm felt good. I tried to get ahead by throwing strikes and that made it easier to put them away.”
The left-handed Nottingham, who was nearly unhittable during the first half of the season, had been fighting through an indifferent spell, which reached its nadir two starts ago when he gave up eight runs.
Nottingham was solid, if unspectacular, in his last start, but Friday he raised his performance another level. Working the corners to perfection in his eight innings, he gave up just one run on four hits and one walk, and he matched his season high with 12 strikeouts. Sixty-eight of his 99 pitches were strikes and he threw first-pitch strikes to 20 of the 29 batters he faced.
Nottingham improved his record to 9-1.
“We had a plan with these guys,” Nottingham said. “They’re a good lefty-hitting team and we talked before the game about how I should work my spots, get ahead and then throw my changeup. That’s what I did and the plan worked today.”
In a tidy game that lasted just 2 hours, 13 minutes, Everett’s Asdrubal Cabrera broke a scoreless tie with an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning, and center fielder Mike Wilson made a spectacular diving catch in the eighth, ending Salem-Keizer’s comeback attempt.
Everett, in first place in the Northwest League’s West Division, improved to 35-25. Salem-Keizer fell to 30-30.
“Usually when I pitch I get a lot of run support,” Nottingham said. “This is the first time it was 0-0 that late, and I think that really made the team come together a little more. Everyone had to work together tonight.”
Salem-Keizer starter Jesus Reina matched Nottingham out-for-out for five innings until he ran into control problems in the sixth. Reina got just one out in the sixth before being pulled. He surrendered three runs – two earned -on just two hits, walking three and striking out three. He fell to 2-4.
Everett finally broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth. Oswaldo Navarro led off with a walk and one out later Brent Johnson walked. Cabrera then lined a double to the right-center gap, scoring Navarro.
The AquaSox then loaded the bases on two more walks and with two out, reliever Anthony Moreno threw a pitch in the dirt that squirted away from catcher Todd Jennings. Johnson broke home from third, even though the ball didn’t bounce far from the plate. Jennings’ throw to Moreno covering home beat Johnson, but Johnson slid under the tag to make it 2-0.
Marshall Hubbard walked to reload the bases and another run scored when third baseman Simon Klink booted Matt Tuiasosopo’s grounder, making it 3-0.
The lead was 4-0 in the eighth when Salem-Keizer finally found a chink in Nottingham’s armor. Jose Yens blasted a one-out double off the left-center wall, then scored one out later when Jeff Palumbo singled up the middle. Kyle Haines walked and John Bowker smacked a sinking liner to center, but Wilson raced in, dove and gloved the ball right off the grass to end the inning and the rally.
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