Dust Devils Win, Advance to Championship Series

The Tri-City Dust Devils scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the Everett AquaSox 4-2 Tuesday night at Gesa Stadium and win the Northwest League North Division Championship. Designated hitter Henry Charles drove in the winning run for Tri-City.

The Dust Devils had three players collect multiple hits. Charles went 3-for-4 and was robbed of a fourth hit in the third inning when AquaSox third baseman Jordan Cowan made a spectacular diving catch. Charles finished the night with the go-ahead RBI, a double and a run scored. Catcher A.J. Kennedy went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored. Centerfielder Rod Boykin went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

Tri-City starter Joel Linares allowed two runs on four hits and a walk. He would leave the game tied at two after 5 1/3 innings pitched and struck out six. Reliever Jerry Keel earned the win for Tri-City, his first of the postseason. He surrendered a hit and a walk over 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Southpaw Elvin Liriano pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn the save.

Everett starter Luis Gohara scattered 10 hits and allowed two runs over seven innings, striking out five. Spencer Herrmann took the loss for the AquaSox. He allowed two runs but didn't record an out in the eighth inning.

The Dust Devils will await the winner of the NWL South Division Championship Series between the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and the Hillsboro Hops. Tri-City will be on the road for game one of the NWL Championship Series, either Thursday night in Hillsboro or Friday night in Salem-Keizer. Game two of the series will be at Gesa Stadium on Saturday night at 7:15 p.m. Great seats are available by calling the Dust Devils' office at (509) 544-8789 or by going to www.dustdevilsbaseball.com to purchase tickets.