EVERETT — It’s been a long time since Everett’s Northwest League entry won a championship.
Just twice since Everett joined the Northwest League in 1984 has the team lifted the championship trophy. Everett won the title as the Giants in 1984, then again as the AquaSox in 2010. The last time the Sox even played for the championship was in 2016.
Everett has a chance to end its long wait when the Sox face the Vancouver Canadians in the best-of-five championship series beginning Tuesday at Funko Field. Vancouver, as the first-half champion, will potentially have three home games in the series, while second-half champion Everett will host the first two.
“Vancouver is a really good team, they’ve been really good all year,” Everett manager Ryan Scott said. “They won the first half and then were still in the race for the second half, which you don’t see a lot in the minors. Sometimes the team that wins the first half has players called up and falls off. Credit to Vancouver, they lost some big arms and bats that got called up, but they’re still a really good baseball team, and you know every time you play them it’s going to be a competitive series.”
Here’s how the teams match up:
Tale of the Tape
Everett
Overall record: 74-58 (second in NWL)
Second half record: 40-26 (first)
Head-to-head: 12-12
Overall run differential: Plus-72 (second)
Second half run differential: Plus-64 (first)
Streak: Lost two
Last 10: 6-4
Team OPS: .769 (second)
Team ERA: 4.42 (fourth)
Top hitters: SS Cole Young (.292, six homers, 23 RBI) ; C Harry Ford (.257, 15 homers, 67 RBI); 1B Hogan Windish (.270, 22 homers, 84 RBI).
Top pitchers: LHP Reid VanScoter (10-6, 3.27 ERA, 35 walks and 157 strikeouts in 143.1 innings); LHP Raul Alcantara (5-6, 6.35 ERA, 66 walks and 140 strikeouts in 107.2 innings); RHP Jarod Bayless (2.59 ERA, four walks and 50 strikeouts in 41.2 innings, six saves)
Vancouver
Overall record: 77-54 (first)
Second half record: 39-27 (second)
Head-to-head: 12-12
Overall run differential: Plus-131 (first)
Second half run differential: Plus-63 (first)
Streak: Lost one
Last 10: 3-7
Team OPS: .742 (fourth)
Team ERA: 3.62 (first)
Top hitters: 3B Cade Doughty (.264, 18 homers, 68 RBI); RF Garrett Spain (.240, 12 homers, 52 RBI); SS Josh Kasevich (.284, four homers, 50 RBI)
Top pitchers: RHP Devereaux Harrison (5-5, 2.95 ERA, 38 walks and 88 strikeouts in 94.2 innings); LHP Adam Macko (5-5, 4.81 ERA, 40 walks and 106 strikeouts in 86.0 innings); RHP Ryan Boyer (0.29 ERA, eight walks and 39 strikeouts in 30.2 innings, zero saves)
Northwest League Championship Series
Game 1: Vancouver at Everett, Tuesday, 7:05 p.m.
Game 2: Vancouver at Everett, Wednesday, 7:05 p.m.
Game 3: Everett at Vancouver, Friday, 7:05 p.m.
Game 4 (if necessary): Everett at Vancouver, Saturday, 7:05 p.m.
Game 5 (if necessary): Everett at Vancouver, Sunday, 1:05 p.m.
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