Viñeros Vexed by Everett

The pitching staffs of the Tri-City Dust Devils (18-32 2H, 52-64) and Everett AquaSox (30-22 2H, 64-54) struck out a combined 34 batters in a low-scoring contest Friday night won by Everett by a 2-1 score in front of 3,212 at Gesa Stadium.d

Southpaw starter Nick Horvath (0-1) went four-plus innings for the team playing as the Viñeros de Tri-City for the final time in 2023, giving up two runs on four hits and striking out nine. Relievers Hayden Seig, Dylan Phillips and Willian Suarez covered the remaining five innings in scoreless fashion, giving up four hits and striking out seven.

The scoring for the game came in a two-inning cluster, with the AquaSox drawing first blood on a two-out bloop single by RF Gabriel Gonzalez in the top of the 3^rd for a 1-0 lead. That doubled in the top of the 4^th when DH Josh Hood sent a Horvath pitch over the wall in left-center for a solo home run, his first at the High-A level. Everett led 2-0 going to the bottom of the 4^th.

There Tri-City dented the scoreboard, starting by getting back-to-back hits from DH Arol Vera (single to center) and 3B Werner Blakely (bunt single) off AquaSox starter Nick Davila (4-5) to put two aboard with no one out. 1B Cam Williams grounded into a fielder’s choice, moving Vera to third, and then stole second to put two in scoring position.

LF Alexander Ramirez came up and Everett brought their infield in to the edge of the grass. Ramirez pulled a hard grounder through the left side for a single that scored Vera, and Williams got the wave to come home. AquaSox LF Colin Davis threw home to C Harry Ford, who tagged Williams out to preserve the lead. From there the Viñeros would threaten once more, getting a runner to third in the 7^th. Everett relievers, though, held the home nine off the board for the remainder, stymying the Tri-City attack to the tune of 18 strikeouts. Sam Carlson finished the ballgame for his fifth save.

The Viñeros were held to six hits on the night, one by six different players in the lineup. Two hitters, Werner Blakely and Adrian Placencia, reached base twice, with Blakely extending his on-base streak to 13 games.

The AquaSox now lead the series three games to one, clinching a share of a series split with their win. The Dust Devils, playing as the Columbia River Rooster Tails, will take on Everett in game five of their series at 7:05 p.m. Saturday night at Gesa Stadium. A dazzling postgame fireworks show will follow, presented by McEachen Electric.

Left-hander Sammy Natera, Jr. (2-8, 4.22 ERA), is the probable starter for the Dust Devils, and the AquaSox have announced Jordan Jackson (0-2, 7.33 ERA) as their counter. Broadcast coverage begins with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m., both here and at the MiLB First Pitch app.

Tickets for both Saturday's Rooster Tails night and Sunday’s series finale 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 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).