EVERETT — Fifteen hits is usually enough to win a baseball game and often by a comfortable margin. But on Sunday afternoon the Everett AquaSox squandered a 15-hit offensive attack by scoring just a pair of runs, and the result was a 6-2 loss to the Vancouver Canadians at Everett Memorial Stadium.
The outcome was particularly discouraging for the AquaSox, who saw a chance to wrap up the Northwest League’s first half title and a guaranteed playoff spot slip through their fingers.
“It’s a little disappointing,” acknowledged Everett manager Rob Mummau, “but you know what? Life’s all about adversity and you just have to overcome it and persevere through it. And the second half starts (today).”
The Sox began the day tied with Tri-City for first place in the North Division, both 22-15. The Dust Devils had the tie-breaker against Everett, meaning they clinched the first-half championship when Everett lost. Tri-City lost 6-4 to Spokane in 10 innings Sunday night.
And Everett’s defeat had a lot to do with the Sox failing to cash in on their scoring chances. Everett hit safely in every inning except the first and had a total of 16 base runners, but ended up leaving 13 runners stranded.
Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Everett had a great chance to cut into the deficit and perhaps take the lead by loading the bases with one out. But Vancouver summoned relief pitcher Bob Wheatley and he struck out Sox cleanup hitter Corey Simpson, who struck out four times in the game, on a high fastball, and then got Arturo Nieto to bounce into an inning-ending fielder’s choice.
There was hope again in the ninth when the Sox again filled the bases with two outs. But with the tying run at the plate, Wheatley struck out Luis Liberato on three pitches.
In terms of silver linings, four Everett players had multi-hit games. Braden Bishop, Erick Mejia and Nieto each had three hits, with Bishop collecting a pair of doubles. Drew Jackson had two hits.
Among Everett’s other highlights was the work of relief pitcher Joe Pistorese, who replaced starter Darin Gillies in the fourth and pitched three innings. Though he struggled a bit in the fifth, giving up three hits and two runs, Pistorese finished with eight strikeouts.
The Sox start the season’s second half tonight in the middle game of a three-game series against Vancouver. And although they came up just short in the first half, Mummau is optimistic about the season’s final 38 games.
“I don’t think I’d be a very good manager if I said no, we have no chance of winning (in the second half),” he said with a smile. “We just have to come out and pretty much do the same things we did in the first half, and see what happens.”
And there is good reason for that optimism, he pointed out. His team has a lot of strengths, “and I don’t know if I could pick out just one thing (as the best thing). It’s a great group of kids, they try their best every day, they work hard, they all get along, and they’re very talented, too.”
Notes
The AquaSox continue to await the return of outfielder Alex Jackson, who sat out his 11th game with a hand injury. Jackson was the No. 1 draft choice by the Seattle Mariners in 2014.
One of the ceremonial first pitches before the game was thrown by former Washington State University quarterback Alex Brink, who was drafted in 2008 by the NFL’s Houston Texans. Brink, who has spent the last five seasons in the Canadian Football League, bounced a fastball in front of home plate.
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