Spokane Sneaks Past Tri-City in Extras
April 19, 2023 - Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release
Tri-City Dust Devils' Alexander Ramirez at bat
(Tri-City Dust Devils)
A back-and-forth game on a breezy Tuesday night went the way of the visitors, as pinch-runner Braiden Ward scored on a wild pitch to give the Spokane Indians (4-3) a 6-5 win over the Tri-City Dust Devils (2-7) in 10 innings at Gesa Stadium.
The Dust Devils had an opportunity to tie the game in the 10th when automatic runner 2B Arol Vera got to third base with one out. Vera ran home on a two-out chop off the plate by LF Joe Stewart, but Indians 2B Nic Kent charged the ball and threw to first, barely beating Stewart to secure the win.
Spokane reliever Angel Chivilli (1-0), despite blowing the save in the 9th inning, got the win. Tri-City reliever Willian Suarez (0-1), who threw the wild pitch that allowed Ward to score, got the loss.
The Indians' Evan Justice closed out the 10th inning for his first save of 2023.
The Dust Devils paced the early scoring, getting to Spokane starter Gabriel Hughes. SS Adrian Placencia laced a 1st inning single to left field which was mishandled for an error. Placencia raced to third on the miscue, coming home on a Vera sacrifice fly to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
Tri-City extended the lead an inning later. RF Alexander Ramirez led off the 2nd with a triple to left-center, scoring easily on a Stewart double to make it 2-0 in the 2nd.
Spokane would flip things in the next two innings, though. RF Yanquiel Fernandez brought home the Indians' first run in the 3rd via sacrifice fly. 3B Sterlin Thompson, who went 4 for 5 on the night, then struck a two-run single in the 4th off Dust Devils starter Jack Kochanowicz to give the Indians a 3-2 lead.
Kochanowicz went 3.2 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and striking out three while walking one. Hughes followed a five-inning, no-hit debut with five more innings, giving up two runs (1 ER) on three hits and striking out seven while walking two. Both received no-decisions.
Tri-City would tie the game in the 6th when Stewart drew a two-out walk and stole second. 3B Osmy Gregorio then singled through the left side, giving Stewart ample time to score to tie the game at 3-3. The Dust Devils' LF would also make a sterling play in the outfield in the 7th, firing a one-hop strike to Gregorio on a tag up attempt for an inning-ending 7-5 double play.
Spokane retook the lead in the 9th inning via a bases loaded wild pitch and sacrifice fly off of Tri-City's Kelvin Caceres. The Dust Devils came back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the 9th off Chivilli to extend the game. DH Gustavo Campero drew a leadoff walk, followed by a double from Knowles to put the tying runs in scoring position. An RBI groundout by Placencia made it a one-run game and moved Knowles to third, from which he scored on a Chivilli wild pitch to tie it at 5-5.
That took both teams to extra innings for the first time in 2023, with Spokane prevailing and handing Tri-City their fourth straight defeat.
The teams turn around quickly for a 1:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon matinee at Gesa Stadium. Southpaw Sammy Natera, Jr. (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his second pro start for the Dust Devils, and the Indians will counter with righty Jaden Hill (0-1, 54.00 ERA). Pregame coverage will begin at 1:10 p.m. at dustdevilsbaseball.com and the MiLB First Pitch app.
Tickets for this week's series are on sale now, with special ticket rates are available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on Dust Devils single game, season, mini-plan (11, 22, 33) and group tickets, visit dustdevilsbaseball.com, call the team office at (509) 544-8789, or visit the team office (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on game nights, or Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. otherwise).
Images from this story
 Tri-City Dust Devils' Alexander Ramirez at bat |
Northwest League Stories from April 19, 2023
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