AquaSox’s first-half title hopes dealt blow in 10-9 loss to S-K

KEIZER, Ore. — The Everett AquaSox saw their hopes of a Class A Northwest League North Division first-half title grow even dimmer Friday as they fell 10-9 to the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes before 3,733 fans.

Kevin Rivera’s two-run single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth gave the Volcanoes their second straight victory in the second game of the five-game series.

The AquaSox (16-19) have now lost four straight and seven of their last nine games. Salem-Keizer (16-19) was able to erase Everett leads of 5-2 and 7-5 before coming back from a 9-8 deficit with two runs in the ninth.

Everett took a one-run lead into the ninth, but two walks and an error loaded the bases for Rivera’s walk-off hit against AquaSox reliever Michael Koval (0-1).

The Frogs had taken the lead in the eighth when they broke a 7-7 tie thanks to an RBI infield single by Eric Filia and a sacrifice fly by Johmbeyker Morales.

The Volcanoes got one back in the eighth on a sacrifice fly to set up their ninth-inning heroics.

Everett took its first lead of the game in the fifth when Donnie Walton, Filia and Nick Zammarelli hit back-to-back-to-back home runs to turn a 2-2 tie into a 5-2 lead. It was the first time the AquaSox had hit three consecutive homers since 2012.

Gio Brusa’s three-run homer in the bottom of the inning tied the game at 5-5.

Zammarelli struck again with a two-run double in the top of the sixth to reclaim the lead for Everett, but Ryan Kirby’s two-run homer in the seventh tied the game yet again for Salem-Keizer.

The Volcanoes jumped on the board with two outs in the third. Brusa stroked a two-out double and Julio Pena followed with an RBI single. Kirby added an RBI double to center to take a 2-0 lead.

Dimas Ojeda, making his Everett AqauSox debut, drove in Morales with an RBI bloop single and Yojhan Quevedo doubled to score Ojeda and tie the game at 2-2 in the top of the fourth.

The series continues at 6:35 p.m. Saturday.