EVERETT — The Everett AquaSox had so much fun on the Fourth of July they decided to extend their patriotic celebration another day.
If Everett’s fortunes continue like this the Sox just might be red, white and blue the rest of the summer.
Sporting the same alternate American flag-emblazoned jerseys that served them so well the previous night on the nation’s birthday, the Sox rode the stars and stripes to another impressive victory, defeating the Yakima Bears 6-2 Saturday night at Everett Memorial Stadium.
“You know what, there might be a little superstition, we’ve played well with these jerseys,” said Everett catcher Travis Howell, who slugged three doubles and drove in four runs. “But I think we’re just playing better baseball.”
Prior to Friday’s game the Sox could best be described as flailing, losing almost twice as many games as they won and seeing all aspects of the game break down at some point.
But upon donning the red, white and blue jerseys Everett played its best back-to-back games of the season, beating the Bears 7-1 Friday before Saturday’s triumph.
And the patriotism is sure to carry over into today’s game.
“If we’re going to continue to play that way we’re going to keep with them,” said a laughing Everett manager Jose Moreno, whose team is now a mere two games out of first place in the West Division, despite an 8-11 record.
“At the beginning of the season we maybe struggled a little bit,” Moreno added. “But the good thing is we always came to the park and played 100 percent, and that’s what it’s all about. If you work hard, good things are going to go your way. Now we know we can compete. We’ve already played against a few teams in this division and they’re no better than us. So we’re going to keep playing hard and get good results like these two games.”
It’s no coincidence that the past two games are also the first two games played by Dennis Raben. The Seattle Mariners second-round draft pick continued his impressive start to his professional career. One day after going 3-for-4 with a homer in his debut, Raben went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and made a great diving catch in right field. His impression has been so immediate that he already had the Bears intentionally walking him.
“He’s a big addition,” Moreno said. “That guy can hit the ball to everywhere in the outfield, has some power, puts the ball in play, and also he can run. He’s a very good addition for our team.”
Everett starting pitcher Bobby LaFromboise also got in on the holiday, turning in his third straight solid outing. The left-hander allowed just three hits in five innings, and just one of the two runs he surrendered was earned. He walked none and struck out five in improving his record to 1-1.
Relievers Eddy Fernandez and Matt Renfree then combined on four scoreless innings and seven punchouts. Renfree got the final seven outs to earn his first save.
The pitchers also made some important defenive plays as three times they caught Yakima runners off second base on comebackers, squashing potential Yakima rallies.
Ryan Babineau led the way for Yakima (8-11), going 2-for-4 with a homer. Bears reliever Amado Rosario took the loss, falling to 1-1 after giving up five runs in 21/3 innings.
Everett fell behind 2-0 early, but gradually surged past the Bears. It began in the bottom of the fourth when Raben and Howell opened the inning with back-to-back doubles to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Sox then took the lead in the fifth. With two on and two out, Howell popped a double over left fielder Alfredo Marte’s head. With one run already across home plate, Raben raced around from first base and made slid around catcher Babineau’s tag, giving Everett a 3-2 lead.
Everett made it a two-run lead in the sixth when infield singles by Welington Dotel and Ben Billingsley put runners at the corners, and Dotel scored on George Soto’s grounder to make it 4-2. The Sox tacked two more on in the seventh, Howell doubling in the first run and Dotel plating the second on a suicide-squeeze bunt completing the scoring.
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