KIRKLAND – What a difference a day made.
Less than 24 hours after struggling to muster just two hits in a loss, the Everett Merchants piled up 11 hits to support pitcher Paul Erickson, who allowed one hit in eight innings, as the Merchants shut out the Kirkland Kodiaks 4-0 in a Pacific International League game.
Andrew LaFave of Anacortes was 3-for-3 with a double for Everett (7-7) and teammate Chris Ullom was 4-for-5, all singles, with two runs batted in.
Even though Everett recovered from a meager hitting performance in Tuesday’s game – a 6-3 loss to the Seattle Studs – Merchants manager Harold Pyatte was most impressed with his team’s dominant pitching against Kirkland (7-8). Erickson (1-1), a 6-foot-2 right-hander who plays for Everett Community College, struck out eight and walked two during what Pyatte called “a real gem.”
“The name of the game basically was the one-hitter that Erickson threw.”
Reliever Josh Roberts, a Snohomish High School grad, pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save of the season. Everett spread its offense out, scoring single runs in the third, fourth, seventh and ninth.
“We turned it around tonight,” Pyatte said. “We came out tonight with all eight cylinders roaring.”
The Merchants play Seattle at 7 p.m. tonight at Everett Memorial Stadium.
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