EVERETT – It’s been the story of the Everett AquaSox’s season.
Another late-inning lead turned into a loss.
The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes erupted for four late runs coming from behind to defeat the AquaSox 6-5 in front of 3,064 fans at Everett Memorial Stadium Thursday night.
The loss was Everett’s 18th loss after holding a late lead.
“It’s frustrating absolutely. We have this situation that we’ve had all season. We’ve had the lead late in the game but we couldn’t hold the game. It was tough,” Everett manager Jose Moreno said.
Everett’s last-minute push for the playoffs is looking less and less like a reality.
With the victory, Salem-Keizer (34-29), champions the past two Northwest League seasons, remained in first place alone atop the West Division standings.
Everett (27-36) meanwhile sits seven games behind the Volcanoes in the division with 13 games remaining in the season.
Salem-Keizer bounced back from a 5-2 deficit, scoring two runs in each of the seventh and eighth innings and taking advantage of some sloppy relief pitching and defense.
Everett committed four errors and relief pitcher Javier Martinez (1-3) picked up the loss after pitching one-third of an inning, walking two.
“It was tough. We had the four errors that cost us runs,” Moreno said.
Volcanoes’ first baseman Mike Loberg provided the big blow of the ball game, a two-out, two-run double in the eighth inning that proved to be the game-winner.
One of the Northwest League’s top hitters, Loberg has now hit safely in 23 of his past 26 games, including a franchise record 19 straight games that ended on August 15.
The left-handed hitting Loberg batted 1-for-4, reaching base three times, driving in three runs and scoring twice.
Loberg leads the league in RBI (47) and is among the top five in batting, home runs, hits and runs scored.
Everett bounced back from a two-run deficit to score four runs in the fifth inning.
Doing something Moreno has preached all season, the Sox used three bunts to score four runs.
Jharmidy DeJesus led off the fifth with a bunt single and scored two batters later when Volcano third baseman Conor Gillaspie misfielded a bunt attempt by Anthony Phillips.
“We don’t have that kind of hitter that’s going to hit for power. We build the runs. That’s the way we’ve played all season. We bunt for sacrifice or base hits,” Moreno said.
Phillips and Nate Tenbrink scored on a Tyson Gillies double off the left field wall and Gillies ended up scoring on a groundout by Ben Billingsley.
Gillies had moved to third on – you guessed it – a sacrifice bunt by Luis Nunez.
Gillies finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI and Travis Howell batted 3-for-4, falling a double short of the cycle.
Howell tripled in his first at-bat, singled in the fourth before hitting a solo home run in the sixth.
“He was pretty good. Sometimes he likes to work the count but he was aggressive that’s what he did (Thursday),” Moreno said.
Gillies also saved a run in the fourth when his throw from centerfield nailed Casey Bond at the plate, ending the inning.
Everett and Salem-Keizer wrap up their three-game series tonight at 7 p.m.
Notes: Ex-Seattle Mariners star Edgar Martinez signed autographs and threw out the first pitch receiving a standing ovation as he made his way toward the mound before Thursday’s game against the Volcanoes… Tacoma Rainers right-hander Chris Jakubauskas will start tonight against Salem-Keizer.
Jakubauskas is expected to pitch three innings or 45 pitches of a rehab assignment.
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