PASCO — Christopher Taylor hit a two-out, two-run single in the top of the ninth to break a 3-3 tie and give the Everett AquaSox a 5-3 victory over the Tri-City Dust Devils in a Northwest League game.
After the Dust Devils rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth, Everett immediately responded. Facing Tri-City reliever Taylor Reid, Marcus Littlewood led off the ninth with a single to right. Following a David Villasuso sacrifice bunt to move Littlewood to second, shortstop Ketel Marte reached on a bunt base hit to put runners on first and third. Reid came back to strike out Jamodrick McGruder for the second out but allowed Marte to steal second with Taylor at the plate. Taylor then hit a sharp ground ball into right field for his third hit of the night to score Littlewood and Marte.
After mustering just two hits in a 2-1 win on Friday, the Sox offense came to life early off Dust Devils starter Joshua Slaats. In the top of the second with one out, Slaats walked Littlewood and Villasuso followed with a base hit to right. After a groundout advanced both runners, Littlewood scored on a passed ball by Tri-City catcher Michael Ramirez. McGruder then singled back up the middle to score Villasuso.
Slaats lasted just two innings, throwing 56 pitches, allowing four hits, two walks and yielding two runs.
The Sox received a strong performance from starter Mayckol Guaipe. Guaipe pitched six innings, allowing just one run on five hits and escaped jams in the first and fifth innings.
It looked like it could be a long night for Guaipe as he loaded the bases in the bottom of the first on two walks and a double by Jordan Ribera but the right-hander induced Dillon Thomas to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to escape the inning.
The Dust Devils threatened again in the fifth getting runners to second and third with only one out. But Guaipe wriggled out of the jam, getting designated hitter Charlie Blackmon to pop out to shallow left field and retired Ribera on a long fly ball that center fielder Janelfry Zorrilla hauled in just in front of the wall.
Everett added to its lead in third. With Slaats pulled for reliever Chris Sheets, Taylor Ard led off with a double off the left field wall. Ard moved to third on a fly out and scored on Patrick Kivlehan’s slow grounder to third to make the score 3-0.
Tri-City finally broke through against Guaipe in the fourth on a Francisco Sosa solo homer to left field.
The Dust Devils drew closer in the seventh off reliever Marcos Reyna. After Snohomish High School product Derek Jones, pinch hitting for Blackmon, drew a walk to load the bases, Reyna walked Ribera to force home a run and make it 3-2. But Reyna came back to retire the next batter, Matt Argyrupoulos, on a fielder’s choice to shortstop Ketel Marte to end the threat.
Tri-City tied the game in the eighth. Sosa singled, stole second and scored on a two-out, RBI single by Ramirez to level the score at 3.
Following Taylor’s clutch single in the ninth, Mario De Jesus set down the Dust Devils in order to earn the victory and give the Sox a second straight win to open the season.
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