Homers Power Dust Devils to Saturday Night Win

Published on May 24, 2026 under Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release

EVERETT - The power of the Tri-City Dust Devils (22-22) once more showed through Saturday night, with the visitors hitting three out of the park in a 7-4 win over the Everett AquaSox (23-21) at Everett Memorial Stadium that clinched at least a split for the visitors and gave them a chance to win this week's series.

In a first for the six-game set neither team scored in the first three innings, with starters Francis Texido of Tri-City and Evan Truitt (1-3) of Everett holding their opponents off the board. The first runs of the game came in the top of the 4th inning, with 3B Jake Munroe and DH Matt Coutney singling to start the frame. 1B Ryan Nicholson came up with one out and socked a ball to center, well over the wall for a three-run home run that gave the Dust Devils a 3-0 lead.

Texido gave his best start for manager Dann Bilardello's team, falling an out shy of getting the win but holding the AquaSox to just one run on one hit in 4.2 innings of work. The lefty struck out five and walked two, teeing up reliever Alex Martinez (2-0) to cover the 5th and 6th innings.

Tri-City pushed two across in the 6th inning, without the help of a round-tripper. C Juan Flores singled to lead things off and Nicholson doubled down the left field line to put runners at second and third with no one out. CF Anthony Scull delivered an RBI single through a drawn-in infield to make it a 4-1 game, and 2B Adrian Placencia's sacrifice fly pushed the lead to 5-1.

The longball would return to the Dust Devils' aid, though, with two solo homers taking the lead further. Munroe would go deep to left-center in the 7th, making it 6-1 for the visitors, and Flores joined in on the fun in the 8th inning with a shot to right-center that shoved the advantage to 7-1. Everett would try to make things interesting late, but reliever Benny Thompson shut the door for his second save of the year.

WIN A GAME, WIN A SERIES

Tri-City faces Everett in the finale of this week's six-game set at 4:05 p.m. Sunday afternoon at Everett Memorial Stadium. Left-hander Lucas Knowles (2-0, 3.42 ERA), who went five innings and got the win Tuesday night, gets the start for the Dust Devils while right-hander Walter Ford (0-3, 7.44 ERA) goes for the AquaSox.

Free broadcast coverage on the MiLB app and dustdevilsbaseball.com will begin with the Dust Devils Pregame Show at 3:45 p.m. Fans can also watch the games for free (Everett broadcast) on Bally Sports Live, and via subscription on MLB.tv and the MiLB app.

The team returns after the finale to enjoy the Memorial Day holiday before beginning a 12-game homestand on Tuesday, May 26, at 6:30 p.m. against the Spokane Indians at Gesa Stadium. After six with the Inland Northwest rivals, the Vancouver Canadians return to town for six games that bring the clubs to the month of June.

For tickets to both the Spokane and Vancouver series, as well as all 2026 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.

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EVERETT - Friday night the Tri-City Dust Devils (21-22) nearly climbed out of a four-run hole handed them by the Everett AquaSox (23-20), but the Frogs kept enough distance between themselves and their guests to take an 8-4 win at Everett Memorial Stadium and even the teams' six-game series at two games apiece.

For the second straight night Everett jumped out to an early lead, taking a 4-0 advantage through the first two innings. The big blow came on a three-run home run by AquaSox 2B Austin St. Laurent, in the bottom of the 2nd off a pitch from Tri-City starter Yeferson Vargas (3-3). The Dust Devils would get on the board in the top of the 3rd, with SS David Mershon's first hit at the High-A level an RBI single that scored 2B Capri Ortiz to make it a 4-1 game.

The home team added a run in the bottom of the 3rd to push the lead to 5-1. Tri-City would make its biggest move of the night a couple of innings later, scoring three runs with two out in the top of the 5th. Ortiz hit a spinning ball that grabbed on to the third base line and stayed fair for an infield single, stealing second to get into scoring position. Mershon then came back to the plate and continued racking up firsts, lining a ball over the right field fence for a two-run homer that cut the deficit in half to 5-3. CF Anthony Scull followed with a double, and DH Matt Coutney brought him in with an RBI single that moved the Dust Devils within one at 5-4. 1B Ryan Nicholson singled to put runners on the corners, but the rally ended there.

Two homers for Everett gave them some insurance for the remainder, first a solo shot by DH Matthew Ellis and then a second home run by St. Laurent (two-run) in the bottom of the 6th. Tri-City had at least one runner on in each of their final four at-bats but could not score. AquaSox reliever Lucas Kelly (1-2), who got the final out in the 5th and covered the 6th inning, got the win.

The Dust Devils offense racked up 12 hits, with the team getting to double digits in the hit column for the fourth straight game. David Mershon went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI on the evening, leading the way for the visitors. C Peter Burns (2-for-4), Matt Coutney (2-4, 2B) and RF Randy De Jesus (2-4, 2B) aided the cause.

Tri-City Dust Devils first baseman Ryan Nicholson

Northwest League Stories from May 24, 2026

• Homers Power Dust Devils to Saturday Night Win - Tri-City Dust Devils

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