Frogs Drop Second Consecutive Game, 9-5

HILLSBORO, Oregon— The Vancouver Canadians (23-16) defeated the Everett AquaSox (22-15) for the second consecutive night, 9-5.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Vancouver jumped ahead early with AquaSox starting pitcher Matt Brash only recorded two outs before getting pulled from the game. The first five Canadian batters reached base with two singles, two walks and one error, leading to an early 4-0 lead. Rafael Lantigua capped off the six-run inning with a two-out, two-run home run.

The ‘Sox were able to get on the board in the top of the second inning with back-to-back, two-out hits: Jake Anchia hit a ground-rule double and Joseph Rosa followed with an RBI triple. The Canadians extended their lead in the bottom of the inning when Cameron Eden drove in Tanner Morris with an RBI double. Eden would score on a Spencer Horwitz ground out, putting Vancouver ahead 8-1 at the end of the second inning.

The AquaSox chipped away at the deficit, scoring runs both the third inning and fourth innings, highlighted by Rosa’s RBI double. After Anchia scored from third base on a passed ball, the Frogs trailed 8-5.

The story of the second half of the game was written by outstanding relief pitching performances for both teams. Adrian Hernandez was phenomenal for the Canadians, closing out the game with five shutout hitless innings, allowing only two walks and striking out nine AquaSox batters. Tim Elliott threw the final six innings for Everett, allowing only three hits and one run while walking one and striking out 10 batters. Tanner Kirwer scored the only run in the final five innings, hitting a solo home run in the sixth, capping off the Canadians’ 9-5 victory.

WRAPPING IT UP

The top three batters in the Canadians order last night (Kirwer, Morris and Eden) combined for five hits, six runs and three RBIs.

In addition to Elliott’s relief outing, other top performers of the night for the AquaSox included Rosa, who was 2-for-3 with a double, triple, walk, 2 RBI and a stolen base. Zach DeLoach was also on base four times, going 1-for-2 with a double and three walks.

The AquaSox were 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position and are a combined 3-for-20 in back-to-back losses after going 7-for-15 on Tuesday night’s 16-9 win. Both teams combined for 26 strikeouts last night. The AquaSox committed four errors for the second time this series, after a four-error game on Tuesday night.

LOOKING AHEAD

Game four of the six-game series will take place tonight at 7:05 p.m. on Friday, June 18. Listen to Steve Willits with the call; tune in at 6:50 p.m. to catch the pregame show. Both teams are tied for second place in the High-A West standings, trailing the Eugene Emeralds by one a half-game.