AquaSox split doubleheader with Canadians

Published 11:18 pm Monday, August 25, 2008

VANCOUVER, B.C. — A little more than three hours after breaking their five-game losing streak, the Everett AquaSox started a new one.

After a Sunday rainout, the tight Northwest League schedule necessitated a doubleheader between the AquaSox and the Vancouver Canadians, with the Frogs winning the opener 6-2 before falling in the nightcap 10-2 at Nat Bailey Stadium.

Vancouver scored early and often in Game 2.

Leading off the first inning of the nightcap, the Canadians’ J.D. Pruitt drove a triple just over the head of Everett right fielder Wellington Dotel. With one out, first baseman Dave Thomas singled up the middle to make it 1-0 Vancouver.

The Canadians added three more runs in the second. Leading off, Michael Lissman hit the first pitch off Everett starting pitcher Eddy Fernandez for a home run and a 2-0 lead for the C’s.

They quickly made it 4-0, as a Dustin Coleman single down the left-field line was misplayed by Tyson Gillies, whose errant throw to the infield gave him two errors on the same play.

Vancouver added yet another run in the third, triggered by its second lead off triple of the game, this time off Thomas’s bat.

The Frogs broke through for a run in the fifth, the result of two-out singles from Jharmidy DeJesus and Ryan Royster sandwiched around a Vancouver error.

But it was a short-lived bright spot, as Vancovuer added five more runs in its half of the fifth to put the game well out of reach.

Lefty starter Pedro Figueroa was stellar for the Canadians, striking out nine Everett hitters in six innings of work.

The Frogs’ defense was anything but, committing four errors in each game.

In Game 1, it was Everett’s De Jesus who was the unlikely hitting star.

After scoring an unearned run in the top of the first, the Frogs added two more in the second. Although he entered the game batting just .175, De Jesus hit a ground-rule double down the left-field line to plate Dotel, who reached on a fielder’s choice. De Jesus came around two batters later on a Canadians miscue.

Vancouver closed the gap, recording two runs of its own in their half of the second, the result of a Bennett Billingsley error with the bases loaded.

Things stayed at 3-2 until the sixth, when the Frogs gave themselves some breathing room. With two outs, Billingsley reached on an error. After a Dotel infield single, De Jesus drilled a three-run home run over the left field wall to give Everett a 6-2 lead. With four RBI, De Jesus increased his season total from five to nine.

Everett’s pitching was solid in the opener, with starter Robert LaFromboise and Doug Salinas each allowing only one hit. Salinas went four innings and earned the win, fanning Pruitt to end both the game and Pruitt’s 31-game streak of reaching base.

The Frogs return to Everett Memorial Stadium today to open a three-game series against the same Canadians. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m.