EVERETT — Everett AquaSox catcher Cal Raleigh noted prior to the team’s Wednesday game that hitting can be contagious.
How prescient he was.
The AquaSox broke their own season-high with 20 hits in Wednesday’s 10-3 win over the visiting Boise Hawks.
“When you have a good approach and swing at good pitches, good things happen,” Everett manager Jose Moreno said. “For the last two nights we’ve been able to be consistent with that plan.”
Most remarkable was the third inning as Everett turned a 1-0 deficit into an 8-1 lead. The AquaSox opened the inning with nine consecutive base hits, including three homers.
“I don’t remember, but it was kind of weird,” Moreno said with a chuckle. “I like it and hopefully we can continue with that.”
Raleigh, batting left-handed, hit one of the three homers as he drove the ball over the right-field fence with an exit velocity of 105 miles per hour. One inning later, Raleigh lined a double off the left-field wall from the right side of the plate with an exit velocity of 108 mph. The switch-hitting catcher is now slashing .304/.360/.565 with three home runs, three doubles and nine RBI in 46 at-bats.
Everett pounded 20 hits — one more than the 19 it had the night before at Salem-Keizer — and has now combined for 77 hits and 47 runs in its last five games.
As a result of their recent offensive output, the AquaSox are third in the Northwest League in hitting (.257), hits (411) home runs (38), RBI (203) and runs (230). It’s a remarkable turnaround for a team that less than a month ago was near the bottom in a number of offensive categories.
The return of Bobby Honeyman from advanced-A Modesto (Calif.) has contributed to Everett’s offensive output. Honeyman went 5-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored in Wednesday’s game. Honeyman has hits in seven straight at-bats; the NWL record is 10 straight, while former AquaSox outfielder Terrmel Sledge holds the club record with hits in nine consecutive at-bats.
The increased production from outfielder Charlie McConnell and infielder Nick Rodriguez, in addition to the continued performance from outfielder Josh Stowers, has also contributed to Everett’s strong offensive numbers in recent weeks.
The offensive output made a winner of Everett reliever Cody Brown, who went four innings in relief of starter Max Roberts. Brown (1-1) allowed six hits and two runs. He struck out five and walked one.
“He was a little bit inconsistent with his fastball,” Moreno said. “His fastball had a lot of movement, and he wasn’t able to locate his sinker for a strike, but he competed real well and was able to give us an opportunity to win.”
It was just Brown’s third outing since he signed with the Mariners on July 21 out of the independent United Shores Professional Baseball League.
Brown, 24, is a Texas native who had 65 strikeouts in 56 innings along with a 2.25 earned-run average for the Utica (Mich.) Unicorns of the four-team USPBL.
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