Winning Streak Ends at 6 Games
June 25, 2023 - Northwest League (NWL)
Everett AquaSox News Release
Hillsboro, OR: Gary Mattis Jr. drove in teammate J.J D'Orazio on three separate occasions as the Hillsboro Hops overcame a two-run deficit in the eighth inning to defeat the Everett AquaSox 5-4 in 11 innings. The win snapped the AquaSox six-game winning streak and ended a seven-game losing streak for the Hops.
AquaSox starting pitcher Jimmy Joyce and Hops starter Yu-Min Lin were locked up in a pitcher's dual early as the game was scoreless through three innings. Harry Ford hit a one-out single into left field in the top of the fourth inning and left fielder Junior Franco misplayed the ball, allowing it to get by him and all the way to the outfield fence and Ford ended up on third base. Ford then scored on a Lin wild pitch to give the AquaSox a 1-0 lead.
Everett added to their lead in the top of the fifth inning. Erik Stock hit a two-out single into left field and then Mike Salvatore came up to bat. Salvatore proceeded to hit a single very similar to the one that Ford hit in the fourth inning and again the ball was misplayed by Franco. The ball again rolled by Franco and traveled all the way to the left field fence as Stock and Salvatore both scored for a 3-0 Sox advantage.
Hillsboro finally got on the board in the sixth when J.J D'Orazio scored on a Gary Mattis Jr. sacrifice bunt. Mattis Jr. drove in D'Orazio again in the eighth inning when he hit an RBI single into left field to cut the AquaSox lead to 3-2. The Hops then tied the game at 3-3 later in the inning when Franco scored on a Ford passed ball. Neither team scored in the ninth inning and the game went into extra innings.
The AquaSox attempted to retake the lead in the top of the 10th inning when Blake Rambusch attempted to score from third base on an Alberto Rodriguez one-out grounder to first base. First baseman Kevin Vicuna decided to pass up the easy out at first base and instead threw home where catcher D'Orazio tagged Rambusch for the second out of the inning. The AquaSox were however still able to score the go-ahead run one batter later when Hogan Windish drove in Ford with a single to right center field for a 4-3 lead.
The Hops tied the game again in the bottom of the 10th inning when Mattis Jr. drove in D'Orazio for the third time in the game, this time with a one-out double. It would be the only run for the Hops in the 10th inning and the game was tied at 4-4 heading into the 11th.
The AquaSox didn't score in the top of the 11th and the Hops went into the bottom of the inning needing only one run to win. Channy Ortiz started the inning on second base and quickly moved to third when Vicuna laid down a sacrifice bunt. Wilderd Patino then hit a ground ball to first base that was fielded cleanly by Windish. Ortiz went running for home as Windish fired a throw to Ford. The play at the plate was going to be close as Ford attempted to catch the ball and make a swiping tag all in one motion. Unfortunately for Ford, the ball bounced out of his glove, allowing Ortiz to score the game-winning run as the Hops defeated the AquaSox 5-4.
SOX BY THE NUMBERS
6-1: 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).
43-27: Run totals over the last seven games
8-2: AquaSox Record over their last ten games
8-3: Record on the current road trip
1.63: AquaSox Bullpen ERA over the past seven games. The bullpen has pitched 27.2 innings, allowing 20 hits, five earned runs, eight walks, and 37 strikeouts.
3.50: AquaSox starting pitchers ERA over the first 11 games of the road trip. The starters have pitched 54 innings, allowing 53 hits, 21 earned runs, 12 walks, and 49 strikeouts with a 6-1 record.
0.73: Matt Willrodt's ERA in 10 relief appearances for the AquaSox this season. Willrodt has pitched 12.1 innings, allowing only five hits, one earned run, eight walks, and 19 strikeouts.
1.04: Jimmy Joyce's ERA in five starts this season. Joyce has pitched 17.1 innings, allowing 12 hits, 2 earned runs, three walks, and 20 strikeouts. Joyce hasn't allowed an earned run over his last two starts (9 innings) and hasn't walked a batter in his last four starts (15.1 innings).
14: Hogan Windish has 14 RBI over the first 11 games of the current road trip. Windish has at least one RBI in 9 of the 11 games and has a .378 batting average (17 for 45) during that time.
56: Harry Ford walked for a league-leading 56th time this season. Ford's .404 on-base percentage is 3rd best in the Northwest League this season
.133: The AquaSox are hitting .133 with runners in scoring position over the last two games after going 1 for 12 on Saturday and 3 for 18 on Friday. The Hops haven't been much better, going 5 for 25 (.200) over the same two games.
13: The number of errors combined between the two teams over the past two games. The AquaSox committed four errors on Saturday and three on Friday while the Hops committed two on Saturday and four on Friday.
6: The number of runs that the AquaSox have scored on wild pitches over the past two games. One on Saturday and five on Friday
3-4: The AquaSox record in extra innings games this year. They are 1-3 on the road and 2-1 at home. The Sox are now 1-2 in extra innings games against the Hops.
7-3: The AquaSox are 7-3 on Sundays this season. Their .700 winning percentage is higher than any other day of the week and as they will try to improve upon that number on Sunday, June 25.
10-10: The AquaSox record in one-run games this season. Saturday's 5-4 loss snapped a streak of five consecutive wins in one-run games.
104-89: The AquaSox have outscored the Hops 104-89 this season despite the fact that the Hops have a 9-8 advantage over 17 head-to-head games.
LOOKING AHEAD: Game six of the six-game series and the final game for the AquaSox of the 12-game road trip is scheduled for Sunday, June 25. RHP Jimmy Kingsbury (1-2, 5.46 ERA) will start for the AquaSox. RHP Yilber Diaz (1-4, 5.46 ERA) will start for Hillsboro. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. and the pre-game show begins at 12:45 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 25, 2023
- Emeralds Win Series Finale to Split the Series Against Vancouver - Eugene Emeralds
- Roden's Big Day Not Enough in 6-4 Loss - Vancouver Canadians
- Emeralds Win Series Finale To Split The Series Against Vancouver - Eugene Emeralds
- Spokane Squeezes Past Tri-City to Take Series - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Everett Scores Three Times in 10th, Wins It 6-3 - Everett AquaSox
- Indians Remain Perfect in Second Half with 4-3 Win - Spokane Indians
- Winning Streak Ends at 6 Games - Everett AquaSox
- Indians Inhibit Dust Devils - Tri-City Dust Devils
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