Indians “MacIver” Way to Three-Game Winning Streak

SPOKANE, Wash. – It started as a pitcher’s duel between former SEC standouts but turned into a gritty #RedbandRally for the Spokane Indians. A limited-capacity crowd of 1,750 saw the Indians come back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Everett AquaSox for a third-straight night, 3-2.

­TOP PERFORMERS

• Willie MacIver blasted his third home run in the last five games and is currently on a five-game hitting streak. During that span, the former Washington Husky is batting .353 with six hits, five runs, six RBI, and three walks.
• Nick Bush was solid for Spokane in his first start of the season. The southpaw had five strikeouts in four innings and walked just one batter. His lone mistake was a two-run home run for the AquaSox by Jack Larsen in the 4th inning.
• Everett’s Emerson Hancock impressed in his longest outing of his professional career. The number six overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft allowed just one hit and no earned runs over 4.2 innings of work. The former Georgia Bulldog also struck out four Indians.

BY THE NUMBERS

• We can’t stop talking about Willie MacIver. From behind the dish, MacIver caught Zach DeLoach stealing twice along with a key pickoff in the top of the 9th. The catcher leads the High-A West with nine baserunners caught stealing.
• Spokane managed just three hits on Thursday night and finished 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Twice Spokane scored a run without having a hit in the inning (4th and 8th).
• Niko Decolati and Brenton Doyle each stole bases for the Indians. Spokane ranks second in the High-A West with 31 stolen bases. The most significant base running came in the 8th inning, when Eddy Diaz scored what proved to be the game-winning run on a wild pitch that didn’t leave the batter’s box.

KEY MOMENT

The Indians held a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth but the AquaSox were threatening. A Julio Rodriguez single followed by a double by Kaden Polcovich put two Everett runners in scoring position with nobody out. With Austin Shenton at the plate, Spokane catcher Willie MacIver took a fastball and immediately threw a rope down to third to pick off Rodriguez for the first out of the inning. The impressive out sparked Spokane to retire the next two batters on the way to a 3-2 victory.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

The Vancouver Canadians remain the hottest team in the league. The C’s earned a close 2-1 victory over the Hillsboro Hops for the Canadians’ eighth-straight win. Vancouver now stands alone atop the High-A West standings.

The Tri-City Dust Devils earned back-to-back wins against the Eugene Emeralds. Tri-City needed three runs in the 11th to pull out the 7-6 victory.

NEXT GAME AT AVISTA STADIUM

The Indians continue with game four of their six-game series against the Everett AquaSox on Friday. Spokane’s Helcris Olivarez will be making his fourth start of the season, while Everett will start George Kirby. Kirby is the #5 ranked prospect for the Seattle Mariners according to MLB.com and has a ranking #78 overall. First pitch for Friday's game is at 6:30 p.m. Gates open at 5:30 PM. Tickets for all Spokane Indians home games are available to purchase online at SpokaneIndians.com.