Bah, Humbug: Tri-City Builds Big Lead but Falls Short

The Tri-City Dust Devils (9-18 2H) hung six early stockings by the chimney with care on a Christmas in July Thursday night, but the Everett AquaSox (12-15 2H) filled them with lumps of coal as they sleighed past the home nine for a 9-6 win at Gesa Stadium.

With both Santa and Mrs. Claus in attendance the Tri-City lineup looked decidedly on the nice list in the opening two innings, scoring six runs and enjoying an offensive feast at the expense of Everett starter Ryan Hawks. The first inning saw LF Caleb Ketchup and SS Chad Stevens lace RBI singles to take a 2-1 lead, and the second yet more with a three-run home run out to left-center by 3B Andy Blake and another Stevens RBI hit giving the Dust Devils a 6-1 advantage.

The AquaSox perhaps wondered if, away from home, it would be a blue Christmas in July but their spirits perked up in the top of the 4^th. There LF Bill Knight sent a pitch from Tri-City starter Chris Clark (2-10) over the left field wall for a two-run home run that cut the Dust Devils lead to 6-3. An inning later, 1B Hunter Fitz-Gerald lined a single up the middle to score RF Lazaro Montes and bring the visitors within two at 6-4.

Things then snowballed on Tri-City in the 6^th, with Everett scoring four runs to go in front. Errors again proved costly for the Dust Devils, with a pair of miscues gifting the visitors with two unearned runs in the inning. CF Jared Sundstrom had the big blow, hammering a two-run double to the left-center gap to give his team an 8-6 lead.

Sundstrom went 4-for-4 on the night with two doubles, a walk and three RBI, reaching base in all five plate appearances. That included a single in the top of the 8^th which helped to load the bases with no one out, putting the AquaSox in position to add an insurance run despite a double play for the final 9-6 margin.

Tri-City’s offense, on fire like a yule log in the first two frames, had a silent night the rest of the evening due to the work of the AquaSox bullpen. Relievers Stefan Raeth (2-2), Jimmy Kingsbury and Jason Ruffcorn combined for five scoreless innings of relief, with the latter two working together to retire the final eight Dust Devils they faced in a row.

Chad Stevens had another great night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and a walk alongside his two RBI singles. The infielder has hit .403 (27-67) in the month of July with four home runs and 15 RBI, racking up a .474 on-base percentage and slugging .687 for an OPS of 1.162.

C Peter Burns added his best performance at the plate, lining two singles up the middle in a 2-for-3 evening before leaving due to injury in the 7^th. CF Joe Redfield also had two hits, reaching base three times and scoring twice.

Tri-City will abruptly put the Christmas decorations away and shift to hydroplane race season, returning to the field as the Columbia River Rooster Tails for the weekend’s action beginning with game four of their series with Everett at 7:05 p.m. Friday night at Gesa Stadium.

It’s Rooster Tails Beach Towel Giveaway Night at the ballpark, with the first 500 fans receiving a blue beach towel adorned with the Rooster Tails’ hydroplane logo thanks to Gesa Credit Union. Gesa also presents another Family Feast Night with $2 hot dogs, 12 oz. Coca-Cola products, chips, ice cream sandwiches and Laffy Taffy ropes for fans to enjoy all night.

Right-handed Ryan Costeiu (0-3, 2.37 ERA), who started the second-ever Rooster Tails game in the 2022 season, will take the ball for Tri-City. Righty Will Schomberg (1-1, 3.94 ERA), who faces the Dust Devils for the first time in his career, will go for the AquaSox.

Broadcast coverage of the game will begin with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m. both here and on the MiLB app, with video coverage on Bally Live and MiLB.tv.

Tickets for the Rooster Tails weekend are on sale now with special ticket rates 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 the team’s official ticketing site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.