VANCOUVER, B.C. — The Everett AquaSox had victory snatched out from underneath them in the bottom of the ninth inning Monday afternoon.
The Vancouver Canadians handed it right back in the 10th.
Everett scored four runs in the top of the 10th inning with the aid of four walks, an error and a dropped foul pop, and the Sox recovered from a ninth-inning thunderbolt to defeat the Canadians 9-5 in their postseason opener.
The victory gave Everett a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Northwest League division series. It was Everett’s first playoff victory in 23 years.
“It feels really good to get that first step into it,” said Sox outfielder Robbie Anston, who was 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI doubles. “It’s a three-game series, so getting that first win is huge. I definitely feel like we have the upper hand right now, especially getting the big win on the road.”
Said Sox manager Jose Moreno: “It was a great game. The kids showed they came ready to play. It was a battle back and forth. We had an opportunity to win the game in the (ninth) inning, but we bounced back. We’ve been playing real good baseball all year, and I’m real proud of them.”
The Sox were making their first foray into the playoffs since 2002, and it looked as though Everett was going to win its first playoff game since 1987 when they were one out away in the bottom of the ninth.
However, the unlikeliest of players shocked Everett’s system. Ryan Pineda, who during the season batted .221 and was homerless, went the opposite way with an Eric Valdez pitch and skied it just over the right-field wall for a two-run homer, tying it at 5-5 and forcing extra innings.
“We didn’t expect Pineda to hit a home run, especially with two outs in the last inning,” Moreno said. “We expect that from (Vancouver sluggers A.J. Kirby-Jones and Michael Choice). But we had a real good bounce back from that.”
The Sox also got a little help as the Canadians self-destructed. Vancouver reliever Dan Tenholder faced five batters in the 10th inning, walking four of them — Terry Serrano’s five-pitch free pass forced home the tiebreaking run. One of those walks was drawn by Anston, who was given renewed life when Vancouver third baseman Nino Leyja dropped his foul pop.
Then after Josh Bowman mercifully replaced Tenholder, Canadians shortstop Wade Kirkland bobbled Kevin Mailloux’s tailor-made double-play grounder, allowing another run to score. A sacrifice fly by Kevin Rivers and an RBI single by Hawkins Gebbers completed the carnage.
“That kind of thing happens,” Anston said. “Being patient, looking for a pitch, everybody did a good job having an approach going up there and it paid off. (Tenholder) ended up walking in the run and I guess that’s how baseball works. Sometimes you catch breaks that ways.”
Valdez then worked a perfect bottom of the 10th to pick up the win. However, it was Austin Hudson who was the pitching hero for Everett. The right-hander relieved starter Edlando Seco, who struggled with his control as he walked seven in 42/3 innings, in the fifth and shut the Canadians down. He retired all 10 batters he faced, getting seven outs on grounders.
Tenholder took the loss for Vancouver. The righty, who was fantastic during the season with a 1.86 ERA and good control, allowed four runs in 12/3 innings.
Everett jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to a pair of two-out rallies. In the top of the third Mailloux and Rivers smacked back-to-back two-out doubles, then Gebbers followed with an infield single that scored Rivers from second. Then in the third Anthony Phillips lined a two-out single to right and scored when Anston launched a double to center.
Seco flirted with disaster through four innings without allowing any runs, but the Canadians finally made him pay in the fifth. With the bases loaded and two out, Seco fired a pitch to the backstop to allow Vancouver’s first run. Then Douglas Landaeta ripped a two-run triple off the base of the center-field wall, knotting it at 3-3.
Everett was handed a gift lead in the top of the sixth when, with runners at second and third and one out, reliever Pedro Vidal threw a wild pitch while trying to intentionally walk Phillips. Evan Sharpley dived in safely ahead of the tag to restore Everett’s lead. Another run came home on Anston’s second RBI double of the game, giving the Sox a 5-3 lead and setting up the dramatic finish.
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