For much of the season, the Everett AquaSox could be described as the young and the defenseless. Everett has had its defensive deficiencies, particularly in the infield, and its proved costly at times.
But perhaps there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
Everett’s errorless performance in Sunday’s 6-2 victory over Spokane may have been a rarity, but the AquaSox hope it’s a sign of things to come.
“We almost (had an errorless game) the other day, but we made one in the ninth,” Everett manager Dave Myers said. “We had routine plays (Sunday) and we kept it all routine. We’ve put in plenty of work trying to right our defense. If we can fix that it will allow our pitchers to pitch and not put them in a hole.”
Everett committed 67 errors in its first 41 games. Going into Monday’s game the AquaSox had just eight errorless games. Sunday’s effort was Everett’s first error-free game since July 21.
Everett’s 67-error total isn’t significantly out of line with the rest of the league, but it’s the nature of Everett’s errors that has been damaging. The AquaSox seem to have had trouble with making errors late in close games, leading to decisive unearned runs.
The biggest problem has been on the right side of the infield, where shortstop Ogui Diaz (16 errors) and third baseman Leury Bonilla (11 errors) have had their issues.
However, Diaz in particular seems to have settled down.
“There’s been a lot of defensive work going on, a lot of effort on making sure we know what to do in situations,” infielder Marcos Villezcas said. “In the past we’ve lost games because of defensive errors. Defense is something every team has to be good at, not giving the other team extra outs.”
Reunion: Every time either Everett’s Joe White or Spokane’s Chris Kemp reaches first base, it’s a de facto South Forsyth High School reunion.
Both graduates of South Forsyth, located 30 miles north of Atlanta, White and Kemp find themselves in the unlikely position of reuniting nearly 3,000 miles away.
“It’s kind of neat, coming back here and meeting up again in Washington,” White said. “It’s really cool.”
White and Kemp played one year together at South Forsyth when Kemp was a senior and White was a freshman. During that season the pair switched off between first base and pitcher. Now both are playing first base for their respective Northwest League teams.
“It’s kind of cool,” White said. “When I’m able to get on first base or he’s able to get on first, we kind of talk a little bit, joke around with each other.”
Short hops: Catcher Curtis Ledbetter was back in Everett on Monday. Ledbetter was temporarily promoted to Class AAA Tacoma last week to serve as an emergency backup. … Everett outfielder Gavin Dickey participated in batting practice, but was not in the starting lineup Monday. Dickey left Sunday’s game after tweaking a hamstring. AquaSox trainer Spyder Webb said Dickey could have played if needed. … Today is Kids Day at Everett Memorial Stadium. As a result, it will be an afternoon game beginning at 12:05 p.m. rather than the usual 7:05 p.m. start time.
Nick Patterson, Herald Writer
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