Sox Tie It in the 9th, Win It in the 10th
August 13, 2023 - Northwest League (NWL)
Everett AquaSox News Release
EUGENE, OR: The Everett AquaSox needed three consecutive two-out singles in the ninth inning to overcome a two-run deficit, sending the game into extra innings before defeating the Eugene Emeralds 7-4 in 10 innings.
Starting pitchers Nick Davila of Everett and Trevor McDonald dominated the game early. Davila at one point struck out six consecutive batters while McDonald retired the first seven AquaSox batters of the game, the first six on groundouts. The score was tied 0-0 after three innings.
The Emeralds finally ended broke through with the first run of the game when Aeverson Arteaga hit his 16th home run of the year over the center field fence, giving Eugene a 1-0 lead.
McDonald's day on the mound was over after four scoreless innings, allowing only one hit. Matt Mikulski was welcomed into the game by Ben Ramirez who hit his first pitch over the right-center field fence, tying the game 1-1. The home run was the second in the last three games for Ramirez and his eighth of the season.
Ghordy Santos who hit the game-winning walk-off home run the night before, homered for the second consecutive day in the bottom of the fifth inning. Santos home run was his 11th of the season and scored Damon Dues to give Eugene a 3-1 lead.
The Emeralds would continue to cling on to the 3-1 lead into the top of the ninth inning. Eugene pitcher Brett Standlee was tasked with trying to close out the game after pitching a hitless eighth inning. Standlee struck out Tyler Locklear to lead off the ninth inning and then struck out Walking Cabrera for the second out after giving up a single to Hogan Windish. The Emeralds were one out from their third straight victory before the AquaSox hit three straight singles. Ben Ramirez single moved Windish to third base and was followed up by an RBI single from James Parker that scored Windish to pull the Sox to within one, 3-2. Blake Victor Labrada then entered the game as a pinch runner for Ramirez who was at second base. Labrada then scored the game-tying running when Blake Rambusch lined a single into left field. Cole Young grounded out to second for the final out of the frame. Peyton Alford pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth inning and the game went into the tenth inning all tied up at 3-3.
Young started the top of the tenth inning at second base since he was the final out of the previous inning. His stay at second was a short one as Harry Ford led off the inning with a line drive right down the left field line. Young scored the go-ahead run as Ford ended up a second base with the RBI double. Gabby Gonzalez was next up and moved Ford over to third base on a single. Locklear then came up and blasted a Standlee pitch into the AquaSox bullpen over the left-field fence. The three-run home run was the 12th of the season for Locklear and extended the Sox lead to 7-3. Standlee then loaded the bases without recording an out before he was finally pulled in favor of infielder Damon Dues who had been playing third base. Dues surprised many by retiring three consecutive batters without giving up another run.
The Emeralds were able to score one final run in the bottom of the tenth inning however Alford was able to close out the game for the AquaSox 7-4 win. Alford was credited with the win to improve his record to 3-4 on the season. Standlee was the losing pitcher, dropping his record to 2-4. The win gives Everett a three-game advantage over third-place Eugene as the two teams continue their pursuit for a berth in the Northwest League Championship best-of-five series to be played beginning on September 12.
By The Numbers
The AquaSox have a 7-4 record in Eugene this season. Three of their four losses have come on ninth-inning solo walk-off home runs.
13-7: The AquaSox head-to-head overall record against the Emeralds this season is 13-7.
32-19: The AquaSox have outscored the Emeralds through the first five games of the series and have won three of five so far this week.
113-80: The AquaSox have outscored the Emeralds 113-80 in 20 games this season
3-5: The AquaSox are 3-5 this season against the Emeralds in one-run games.
10-2: The AquaSox are 10-2 this season against the Emeralds in games decided by two or more runs
4: Ben Ramirez's last four home runs have all come on the road in Eugene. Ramirez has hit two home runs in the past three games. His last two home runs coming into the week were in back-to-back games against the Emeralds on May 24 and May 25.
19: Harry Ford has reached base safely in 19 straight games
16: Walking Cabrera has a base hit in 16 straight games that he has played in. The streak includes nine games with the AquaSox, four games with the Modesto Nuts (Mariners single-A), and the games with the Mariners ACL (Arizona Complex League) team.
14: Cole Young has reached base safely in 14 straight games. Young currently has a five-game hitting streak and has a hit in eight of his last nine games.
5: Tyler Locklear has scored in the last five AquaSox games that he has played.
87: Harry Ford added another walk to his NWL league-leading total of 87. Ford has walked at least once in four straight games. The walks have led to Ford having a .412 on-base percentage which is third in the NWL among league leaders.
73: Harry Ford scored his 73rd run this season, tying him with Grant McCray of Eugene for the NWL lead.
.385: Blake Rambusch is 10 for 26 (.385) in his last eight games and has raised his season batting average from .223 to .244 during that stretch. Rambusch was 2 for 27 prior to his last eight games.
20: Blake Rambusch recorded his 20th stolen base of the season, tying him with Harry Ford for the team lead. Rambusch and Ford are two of seven players that have stolen 20 or more bases in the NWL this season.
.385: James Parker is 5 for 13 (.385) and has a hit in all four August games that he has played in. Parker only hit .175 in the month of July.
2.25: Nick Davila has a 2.25 ERA in three AquaSox starts in the month of August. Davila has thrown 20 innings, allowing 20 hits, two walks, and 16 strikeouts. Davila had an ERA of 5.09 in the month of July
.429: The AquaSox were 6 for 14 (.429) on Saturday with runners in scoring position.
3: The team that has scored the first three runs of the game is 0-3 over the past three games. The Emeralds jumped out to a 3-1 lead on Saturday before losing the game. Everett held 3-0 leads on Thursday and Friday before losing both games in the ninth inning.
LOOKING AHEAD: The final game of the six-game series is scheduled for Sunday, August 13. LHP Brandon Schaeffer (5-3, 4.13 ERA) will get the start for the AquaSox. The starting pitcher for Eugene is to be determined. The forecast for Sunday in Eugene is a high temperature of 105 degrees. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. and the pre-game show begins at 3:45 p.m. Coverage is available on AquaSox.com, the MiLB First Pitch app, Bally Live, and the North Sound 1380 KRKO Radio Network. The AquaSox will have an off day on Monday, August 14 before beginning a six-game homestand against Hillsboro beginning on Tuesday, August 15.
Northwest League Stories from August 13, 2023
- Everett Split Series in Eugene - Everett AquaSox
- Emeralds Take Series Finale Against AquaSox - Eugene Emeralds
- Hops Slug Way to Spokane Split - Hillsboro Hops
- Brown, Doughty Slug C's to Series Sweep - Vancouver Canadians
- Sox Tie It in the 9th, Win It in the 10th - Everett AquaSox
- Bewildered in B.C.: Dust Devils Clipped Again by Canadians - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Cardiac Canadians Do It Again to Win 8-7 - Vancouver Canadians
- No Love in the Glove, Hops Blow Lead in 9th - Hillsboro Hops
- Emeralds Drop Game 5 in Extra Innings - Eugene Emeralds
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
