SPOKANE — The Everett AquaSox beat Spokane 9-3 on Wednesday night, which put them in position to claim a berth in September’s Northwest League Championship Series.
A Frogs’ win over the Indians on Thursday or a Vancouver loss would give Everett the season’s first-half title. The team with the best record after the first half of the season will face the second-half champion in September’s championship series.
Freuddy Batista hit two home runs and drove in three runs to lead the AquaSox offense. Colt Emerson homered and doubled on a 4-for-5 evening, and Lazaro Montes hit his Northwest League-leading 15th homer of the season with a 3-run shot in the fifth inning. Hitting from the ninth spot in the order, Josh Caron also homered in the fifth as the Frogs built a 6-0 lead.
After Batista’s sixth-inning homer and a sacrifice fly from Luis Suisbel in the seventh, Everett led 8-0 behind strong pitching outings from Taylor Dollard and Nico Tellache.
Dollard pitched three scoreless frames, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out one batter. Tellache pitched the next five innings, allowing one run that scored on a balk along with a hit and a walk. The 27-year-old right-hander struck out three Indians.
Close Gabriel Sosa (3H, 2ER, K, HR) entered the ninth in a non-save situation and gave up two earned runs.
Thursday’s game is slated to begin at 6:35 p.m. in Spokane, with Everett right-hander Ashton Izzi (1-3, 5.48 ERA) scheduled to square off against Spokane lefty Albert Pacheco (5-4, 6.16).
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