EVERETT — The Everett AquaSox had been waiting for a night when all facets of their game came together in one sparkling performance.
Well, that wait is over.
With a storybook debut from new arrival Dennis Raben igniting the offense and three pitchers combining on a five-hitter, the AquaSox defeated the Yakima Bears 7-1 Friday in a Northwest League game at Everett Memorial Stadium.
“We needed to put everything together,” said Everett manager Jose Moreno, whose team snapped a two-game losing streak. “Sometimes when we pitch, we don’t hit, and when we hit, we don’t pitch. Tonight everything was fine.”
A big reason for that was Raben, the Seattle Mariners’ second-round pick in last month’s major-league draft. The left-handed hitter, who arrived in Everett on Thursday, was supposed to bring much-needed power to the Everett lineup, but no one could have imagined how quickly he would deliver.
Raben, who started in right field and batted fourth, homered in his first pro at-bat. He drove a 1-1 pitch from Ian Harrington (1-1) well over the center-field fence leading off the second inning to give the Sox a 1-0 lead. It was the start of a 3-for-4 night for Raben, who scored three times.
“I love hitting with the wood bat,” said Raben, who this spring helped lead the University of Miami to the College World Series. “College was a lot of fun, too, but there’s something about the wood bat. I had success last summer in the Cape Cod League (a wood-bat league) … Hopefully I can keep it going.”
Raben planned to celebrate his performance by giving his mother a wakeup call — if, that is, she didn’t call him first
“My mom will probably call me before I can call her,” he said. “She’s on the East Coast, so I don’t know if she’s up. She’s probably up, though, because it’s my first game. She’s probably watching on the Internet.”
Raben’s homer seemed to jump start the Sox offense. Everett banged out 13 hits. Travis Howell was 3-for-4 and Nate Tenbrink hit a two-run homer. Tenbrink’s blast over the right-center-field wall gave the Sox a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second, and that was all the runs Everett’s pitching staff needed.
Everett starter Aaron Brown and reliever Christian Staehely combined to shut out the Bears through seven innings. Brown went four innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three.
Staehely pitched 32/3 innings to collect his first win as a pro. He allowed just four hits and struck out one. Javier Martinez closed out the game by retiring all four batters he faced.
Only an unearned run in the eighth — the result of an error by Staehely — kept the AquaSox from recording their first shutout of the season.
Leading 3-0, Everett added a solo run in the sixth when Raben singled, moved to second on Howell’s single, was bunted to third by Brandon Fromm and scored on a passed ball.
In the seventh, Ryan Royster doubled and later scored on a double play.
In the eighth, Everett scored twice — on an RBI single by Fromm, who finished the game 2-for-3, and a run-scoring groundout by George Soto.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
