C's On Wrong End Of Season-Opening Sweep

SPOKANE, WA – For the third straight game, the Canadians came up just short against the Spokane Indians [Rockies] after a 7-6 loss on Sunday afternoon at Avista Stadium.

The first five batters in the bottom of the first inning reached base and three came around to score, which brought Kevin Miranda on for early relief. The right-hander induced a double play and a groundout to keep the deficit at three then went on to toss a total of four scoreless innings in his season debut.

The C’s tied it in the third with three runs of their own. Jean Arnaez got the rally started with a one-out double, Dasan Brown singled him to third and Ryan McCarty plated the first Vancouver score of the day with a base hit. A strikeout and a walk loaded the bases with two outs, which set up a two-run wild pitch plus a missed catch error on the pitcher that brought Brown and McCarty in to score and evened the tally at 3-3, which it remained until the bottom of the sixth. A two-out double from Spokane catcher Jesus Ordonez was the first of four consecutive hits, the last of which was a three-run homer off the bat of Cole Carrigg to make it a four-score frame that put the Indians in front 7-3.

Vancouver did not go quietly. Dylan Rock started the eighth with a single and got to third with two outs for Jaden Rudd, who collected the first High-A RBI of his career with a sharp single to center.

Trailing 7-4 to start the ninth, the C’s rallied to load the bases with one out thanks to an infield hit from McCarty, a walk for Jace Bohrofen and a line drive hit off the pitcher for Nick Goodwin. After an emergency pitching change, a ground ball to third base that could have been a game-ending double play was instead a fielder’s choice and a two-run error after the throw to first went wide of the bag. With the Canadians down by just a run and the tying score at second, the game ended on a groundout to third and the C’s dropped their third straight.

McCarty paced the offense with three hits, the first Vancouver hitter to record a three-knock performance this year. Arnaez finished with two doubles and Goodwin had a pair of hits. On the mound, Grayson Thurman and Josh Mollerus both put up zeroes in their respective outings.

The Canadians will look to get their first win of the year when they return home Tuesday night to start the home schedule at The Nat. First pitch of the series opener against Hillsboro [D-Backs] is slated for 7:05 p.m. with coverage available across the Canadian Broadcast Network.