Morris Slam, Ninth Inning Rally Send C's To Victory

EVERETT, WA – Another back-and-forth battle between the Canadians and the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) Thursday night at Funko Field finished with the C’s on top 9-8 to win their fourth consecutive game and secure a series split this week with their Northwest League foe.

The game was decided in the ninth. After Everett rallied for two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth to tie the game 8-8, the final frame began with Andres Sosa at the dish. He worked a full count before watching ball four to put the go-ahead run aboard then proceeded to steal second and third. After a strikeout and a walk had runners at the corners with one out, a bouncing ball to third off the bat of Riley Tirotta could have been an inning-ending double play, but a brief hesitation by the third baseman and a hard 90 from Tirotta helped him beat the throw to first and score Sosa on a force out to make it 9-8.

Jol Concepcion (W, 5-3) retired the side in order in the bottom of the inning to secure the win.

Everett started the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first, but Vancouver immediately rallied to tie it in the top of the second. PK Morris singled with two outs and Glenn Santiago brought him in in the next at-bat with a double down the left field line.

Rainer Nunez went deep for the third time in as many games with a two-run opposite field homer in the third to give the C’s a 3-1 lead, then a walk and Morris’ second single of the game in the fourth set the table for another RBI hit from Santiago.

After the Frogs got single runs in the third and fourth, Vancouver was in front 4-3 to start the fifth. A one-out walk followed by a two-out free pass before an infield single from Tirotta set the table for Morris, who cleared the right centerfield wall with his third homer of the series and second grand slam of the season to make it 8-3.

The AquaSox fought their way back even with a run in the fifth and those two-score frames in the seventh and eighth, but the Canadians did what they had to do to keep their winning streak alive.

Morris’ four hits and four RBI paced the offense. It was his first multi-hit game of more than two knocks this year. Santiago set his own season high with three hits while Sosa reached base four times thanks to two hits and two walks.

With the win and a Eugene (Giants) loss earlier today in Hillsboro (Diamondbacks), Vancouver is now just a half game back of the Emeralds for the top spot in the second half standings. Spokane (Rockies) won tonight, so the C’s remain a game and a half in front of the Indians for the second-best overall record in the league.

The Canadians can win the six-game series Friday night if they can grab their fifth consecutive victory. Trenton Wallace goes for the Blue Jays affiliate opposite Everett’s Bryan Woo. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. and coverage is available on CanadiansBaseball.com and the Sportsnet Radio Network.