Sox Score Five Runs on Wild Pitches, Win 6th Straight, 10-6
June 24, 2023 - Northwest League (NWL)
Everett AquaSox News Release
Hillsboro, OR: The Everett AquaSox scored five runs on wild pitches, including three on-one play on the way to a 10-6 victory over the Hillsboro Hops. It was a season-tying sixth consecutive win for Everett, winning for the fourth straight night in Hillsboro. It was the first game of the second half of the season after the AquaSox finished the first half with a 34-32 record. The win came in front of 5,024 in attendance, the largest crowd in Hillsboro this season as the team was celebrating Star Wars Night.
Hillsboro scored first and led for the only time in the game when Ivan Melendez hit his 14th home run of the season, a solo blast over the left center field fence in the first inning to put the Hops up 1-0.
Everett took the lead with a three-run second inning. Ben Ramirez RBI single scored Hogan Windish to tie the game. Axel Sanchez scored the go-ahead run on a Spencer Giesting wild pitch followed by Ramirez scoring on a Blake Rambush sacrifice fly. The AquaSox led 3-1 after two innings.
Ramirez hit another RBI single in the third, driving in Alberto Rodriguez for a 4-1 lead. Rambusch drove in his second run of the game in the top of the fifth when he hit his first triple of the season, scoring Randy Bednar. Rambusch then scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-1. The Sox added on one more run in the fifth on an RBI double off the bat of Harry Ford, scoring Victor Labrada for a 7-1 lead.
Hillsboro answered Everett's three-run top of the fifth inning with a three-run bottom of the fifth. With runners on first and third, Channy Ortiz scored on a throwing error by AquaSox starting pitcher Brandon Schaeffer on a pickoff attempt over to first base. Melendez tripled off the center field fence, scoring Manuel Pena. Melendez then scored on a throwing error by Ben Ramirez on a ground ball hit by J.J D'Orazio to cut the AquaSox lead to 7-4.
The AquaSox scored their final three runs of the game in the top of the sixth inning on a bases-clearing wild pitch by Carlos Meza. Windish came in to score from third when the pitch went to the backstop. Catcher Gavin Logan retrieved the ball and threw home to Meza in an attempt to get Windish out. Meza and Windish collided, causing the ball to go up the first base line. Melendez was playing first base, picked up the ball, and threw it home as Axel Sanchez was then attempting to score. Sanchez scored as the ball hit him and went up the third base line, allowing Ramirez to score all the way from first base. The wild play gave the Sox a 10-4 lead.
The Hops made the score more respectable with a S.P. Chen RBI single in the sixth inning that scored Jesus Valdez. They then scored one final run in the ninth inning when Melendez came home on a groundout off the bat of Junior Franco. Melendez double in the ninth inning completed the cycle. He finished the game four-for-five with three runs and two RBI.
WRAPPING IT UP: Brandon Schaeffer improved his record to 3-1. It was the pitcher's fourth start for the AquaSox since being promoted from Single-A Modesto. Schaeffer's ERA is 2.59 with Everett. Blake Rambusch finished the night three-for-four with a double, triple, one run, two RBI, and a stolen base. Ben Ramirez went three-for-five with two runs and two RBI. Hogan Windish went one-for-three with three walks and two runs.
SOX BY THE NUMBERS
6-0: AquaSox record over the last six games. The six-game winning streak matches their longest of the season. The previous streak took place from April 20 through April 26 (four wins at home vs Vancouver and two road wins in Spokane).
39-22: Run totals during the current six-game winning streak
8-1: Record over their last eight games
8-2: Record on the current road trip
1.61: AquaSox Bullpen ERA during the six-game winning streak. The bullpen has pitched 22.1 innings, allowing 14 hits, four earned runs, seven walks, and 31 strikeouts.
3.86: AquaSox starting pitcher's ERA over the first ten games of the road trip. The starters have pitched 49 innings, allowing 50 hits, 21 earned runs, 12 walks, and 45 strikeouts with a 6-1 record.
.457: Hogan Windish has a .457 On-Base Percentage over the first 10 games of the current road trip after going one-for-three with three walks. Windish has a .375 batting average (15 for 40) during that stretch along with six runs and 13 RBI.
100-84: The AquaSox evened up their season series record against Hillsboro at 8-8. The AquaSox have however outscored the Hops 100-84 in those 16 games.
104: Blake Rambusch and Victor Labrada each had one stolen base last night, adding to the team's league-leading total of 104 for the season
10: Ben Ramirez has 10 RBI over his last 10 games. Ramirez and Alberto Rodriguez are tied for the team lead with 42 RBI this season, both are tied for fifth overall in the Northwest League.
3: Axel Sanchez has been hit by a pitch in three straight games
5-21: Hillsboro Hops starting pitchers now have a record of 5-21 with a 5.03 ERA. Hillsboro relief pitchers have a combined record of 19-22 despite having a 5.83 ERA, significantly worse than the starters.
LOOKING AHEAD: Game five of the six-game series is scheduled for Saturday June 24. RHP Jimmy Joyce (0-0, 1.46 ERA) will make his fifth start of the season for the AquaSox. LHP Yu-Min Lin (0-3, 3.38 ERA) will make his 11th start of the season for Hillsboro. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and the pre-game show begins at 6:45 p.m. Tune in to 1380 AM/95.3 FM for all of the action.The games will also be on MiLB.TV. The Frogs return to the friendly confines of Funko Field for a six-game homestand against the Eugene Emeralds beginning Wednesday, June 28th.
Northwest League Stories from June 24, 2023
- Santos Sets Tone, C's Win 4-1 - Vancouver Canadians
- Hops Win Extra-Inning Thriller - Hillsboro Hops
- Santos Sets Tone, C's Win 4-1 - Vancouver Canadians
- Emeralds Drop Game 5 Against Vancouver - Eugene Emeralds
- Hops' Ivan Melendez Hits for the Cycle - Hillsboro Hops
- Sox Score Five Runs on Wild Pitches, Win 6th Straight, 10-6 - Everett AquaSox
- Game with Spokane Gets Away Late from Tri-City - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Everett Takes Fourth Straight Over Hillsboro - Hillsboro Hops
- Emeralds Walk off Vancouver for the Win - Eugene Emeralds
- Emeralds Walk Off Vancouver For The Win - Eugene Emeralds
- Walk-Off Loss Starts Second Half - Vancouver Canadians
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