EVERETT – The carnage continues at Everett Memorial stadium.
And the Everett AquaSox are enjoying every minute of it.
Everett just keeps putting a bigger hurt on Spokane daily, Monday’s version coming to the tune of a 12-2 drubbing before a crowd of 2,113.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Everett outfielder Casey Craig, who cracked his fourth home run of the season. “Especially coming back after losing the last series to (Spokane). To win by a big margin feels real good.”
Each of Everett’s victories in the first three games of the five-game series have come by greater margins. On Saturday it was two runs, on Sunday it was eight, and Monday it reached double digits. In the three games the AquaSox have outscored the Indians 29-9. If it gets much worse the Northwest League may need to institute the mercy rule.
Once again, everyone got involved for Everett (15-12) offensively. Eight of the 10 players who batted had at least one hit – the AquaSox finished with 14 hits in the game – and nine of the ten scored at least once.
Craig led the way, going 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBI. Trevor Heid also went 3-for-5, Daniel Santin was 2-for-4 with three RBI and Jeff Flaig knocked his third homer of the season.
“This is definitely our best stretch of hitting,” Craig said. “We’re not getting as many wins as we’d like, we’d like to be closer to first (Everett still trails first-place Vancouver by five games). But we’re definitely hitting the way we want right now.”
Spokane (10-17) remains mired in a slump. The Indians have now lost nine straight.
“What do you do when your pitching staff allows six runs a game?” Spokane manager Greg Riddoch wondered. “There’s only one way out and that’s to not give up as many runs. Our ERA has gone from three-something to almost six. When you’re giving up six runs a game and not scoring a lot, it’s tough to win games.”
Everett starting pitcher Paul Fagan turned in his best performance of the season. Using all five of his pitches to effect – fastball, curve, slider, changeup, sinker – the left-hander went six innings, giving up one run on five hits and two walks, striking out eight. He improved to 1-1.
“I had every pitch,” Fagan said. “Then it was just a matter of attacking the hitters.”
Spokane starter Brett Zamzow gave up six runs in five innings to take the loss, falling to 0-3.
The game’s start gave no hint of what was to come as Spokane took its first lead of the series in the top of the second inning. Phillip Hawke led off by lining a double down the right-field line. A pair of groundouts brought Hawke home, giving the Indians a 1-0 lead.
But that lead was short-lived. In the bottom of the second J.B. Tucker was hit by a pitch with one out and Heid doubled off the left-field wall, putting runners at second and third. Mike Saunders then grounded a single up the middle, scoring both runners and giving Everett a 2-1 lead.
The AquaSox stretched the lead in the third. Santin lined a pitch to right to drive in two runs. Then Heid grounded a ball right under third baseman Joey Hooft’s glove that was ruled a base hit, scoring Santin and making the score 5-1.
Flaig made it 6-2 in the fifth, popping a solo home run to left.
The AquaSox turned it into a rout in the sixth. Rob Hudson’s double to center plated one run. Craig followed with a towering three-run homer into the homer porch in right, upping the lead to 10-1.
Everett polished off the scoring in the eighth when Luis Valbuena, Santin and Heid all hit doubles off the wall, resulting in two runs and a 12-1 lead.
Spokane scored a consolation run in the ninth on K.C. Herren’s RBI triple to center.
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