EVERETT – The way Shawn Nottingham’s day started, it seemed the Everett AquaSox surely were headed to their fourth straight loss.
When Tri-City’s second hitter, Erik Dean, connected for a solo home run to right field, Everett’s starting pitcher could have gotten down on himself. He could have ditched his game plan. He could have wilted in the sweltering late-July heat.
He didn’t.
“I knew if I just gave up one, one home run’s not going to lose you a ballgame. I didn’t get too upset about it.”
After giving up the homer, Nottingham held the Tri-City Dust Devils scoreless for the next six innings and Everett went on to snap its longest skid of the season with a 9-3 victory Wednesday afternoon in a Northwest League game at Everett Memorial Stadium.
On Kid’s Day in the Frogs’ earliest game of the season, Casey Craig hit a three-run home run and Mike Wilson added a two-run shot as the AquaSox broke out of an offensive drought in front of 3,402, including about 2,000 Spongebob Squarepants-loving youngsters.
Everett (24-16) starts a five-game series at 6:05 tonight at Boise before getting two rare days off during the NWL All-Star break. Thanks to Nottingham’s resiliency and a much-needed hit parade, the Frogs are hopping again.
“We got some confidence back, we got our bats back,” said the left-handed Nottingham, who improved to 6-1 by striking out six and walking just two in seven innings.
Nottingham effectively changed speeds to shut down Tri-City (22-18), which frequently crushed fastballs during the five-game series, which the Dust Devils won 3-2.
“He settled down and he knew what he needed to do,” Everett catcher Brian Schweiger said. “His curve and his changeup are working pretty well.”
Leadoff hitter Casey Craig ignited Everett’s recently sluggish offense, going 2-for-2 with four runs batted in and two walks.
“We’ve lost six out of 10 to (Tri-City),” Craig said, “and we should be beating those guys. So it’s good to come out of here with a win and get back on track.”
AquaSox third baseman Brent Johnson continued to hit well. He was 3-for-5 with a two-run double, and he is 8-for-13 in his last three games.
Nottingham seemed to tire in the seventh and got into trouble, but he struck out Tri-City star Matt Macri on a full count with the bases loaded to escape without surrendering a run. Nottingham said he knew Macri was the last batter he would face. The sun was starting to get to the left-hander and his fastball was fading, so Nottingham thought, “Screw it, I’m gonna throw a changeup here.”
Nice decision.
“Fortunately for me,” he said, “I threw a strike.”
Johnson’s two-run double capped Everett’s four-run outburst in the second inning. The four runs matched the Frogs’ total output from the previous two games and gave them a 4-1 lead. Johnson’s hit against Tri-City starting pitcher Jake Postelwait smacked high on the left-field wall and scored Schweiger and Craig. Earlier, Schweiger drew a one-out walk and Craig walked an out later.
Mike Wilson lifted Everett to a 2-1 lead with a two-run homer, his fourth. Wilson’s one-out shot to left field off Postelwait drove in Yung Chi Chen, who started the inning with an infield single.
Craig hit his first homer of the year, a three-run shot to center, as Everett scored four more in the third. The Frogs stole three bases in the inning and took advantage of two walks and two wild pitches by Postelwait, who fell to 0-3 after allowing eight runs in 22/3 innings.
Designated hitter Rob Johnson and Schweiger scored on Craig’s homer, which put the AquaSox up 8-1. Chen, who stole two bases in the inning, scored Everett’s fifth run on right fielder Elvis Cruz’s sacrifice fly.
Craig’s sacrifice fly to center in the seventh drove in Schweiger to make it 9-1.
Jud Thigpen hit Tri-City’s ninth homer of the series – a two-run shot – off reliever Aaron Trolia in the ninth, to make it 9-3.
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