The Vancouver Canadians knocked off the Everett AquaSox 10-2 in Game 4 of the Northwest League Championships Series at Nat Bailey Stadium on Saturday.
Vancouver starter Ryan Jennings got the start, making his home debut after making three appearances on the road this year. His first inning in front of the C’s faithful could not have gone any better as struck out the side in the top of the first inning, getting Cole Young looking and Harry Ford and Gabriel Gonzalez swinging.
The first hit of the game belonged to Ryan McCarty who lined a single to center field with one away in the bottom of the first inning off Everett starter Marcelo Pérez. McCarty got to second on a hit-and-run that saw Cade Doughty tap one back to the mound. Gabby Martinez would ground out to short to leave the C’s empty-handed.
Hogan Windish reached base on a Doughty throwing error at third base in the top of the second. McCarty had to come off the first base bag and tried to get Windish with a swipe tag but Windish was ruled safe.
https://twitter.com/Brennan_L_D/status/1703234483095314518/video/2
Windish got to second when Josh Hood hit a comebacker to the mound but was stranded when Mike Salvatore popped out to short.
The bottom of the second began with a Jeff Wehler hustle double as Ramirez was handcuffed on the sharply hit ball near the third base line. Garrett Spain then found the gap in right-center to score Wehler with the game’s first run. Dasan Brown and Nick Goodwin both walked to load the bases. Jommer Hernández hit into a 5-4-3 double play but that brought Spain home to make it 2-0 Vancouver.
The first pitch from Jennings in the top of the third hit Bill Knight in the back and Knight would steal second, beating the tag by Goodwin. Jennings struck out Blake Rambusch and Young before Ford drew a walk. The righthander would strand the runners by getting Gonzalez to pop out to second.
Luis Curvelo relieved Pérez for the top of the third and walked McCarty on four straight pitches. The former Penn State Abington Nittany Lion stole second base with one away after getting a huge jump but he would not go any further.
Anders Tolhurst took over for Jennings in the top of the fourth and retired the first three hitters he faced. In the bottom of the fourth, Curvelo was back on the mound for Everett and he gave up a Spain single to center after Spain fouled off five 1-2 pitches. Brown drew a walk to force Curvelo’s exit and Bernie Martinez’s entrance into the game. Hernández blooped a single to center with one out to load the bases. A Josh Kasevich fielder’s choice to short brought in Spain and a throwing error by Young at short on a McCarty ground ball sent Brown home. Doughty then doubled to left to drive in Kasevich and McCarty. That was followed by a Gabby Martinez single to right to cash in Doughty with Vancouver’s seventh run.
Wehler then singled to left but Gabby Martinez was cut down trying to go from first to to third on a 7-5 play for the third out.
The AquaSox responded against Tolhurst in the top of the fifth inning. Salvatore—who got a reprieve at the plate when Hernández misjudged a foul pop up behind the plate—and Knight both singled to left before Goodwin made a slick grab on a sharp ground ball by Rambusch. Goodwin tried to start a 4-6-3 double play but Rambusch beat the throw to first. A sacrifice fly by Young allowed Salvatore to score and Ford doubled to left to drive in Knight to make it a 7-2 game. Tolhurst got out of the frame by breaking Gonzalez’s bat on a comebacker to the mound.
Brown drew a one-out walk against new AquaSox reliever Jarrod Bayless in the home half of the fifth but was thrown out stealing at second by Ford. Goodwin was then drilled in the back by the next pitch and was none too happy about it but that would be it for the C’s bats in that inning.
Tolhurst faced just three hitters in the top of the sixth, striking out Ramirez and Hood for outs two and three.
In the bottom of the sixth, Doughty nearly smoked Brown just sitting outside the C’s third base dugout with a line drive foul ball. Fortunately, Brown was okay and three pitches later, Doughty doubled to the warning track in left field. Gabby Martinez then punched an opposite-field single to right off Bayless to score Doughty and increase the Vancouver lead to 8-2.
Tolhurst struck out Salvatore to start the top of the seventh before Knight singled to right. Rambusch then lined out to Kasevich at short and Kasevich was able to double off Knight at first to end the inning.
Spain greeted AquaSox lefty Peyton Alford with a double to the left field corner. After a Brown bouncer to the mound got Spain over to third, Spain got to trot home when Goodwin slugged a two-run homer off the facing of the left field porch to put the C’s ahead by eight.
Eric Pardinho was up next on the mound for the Canadians in the top of the eighth. He walked Young who got into scoring position on a Hernández passed ball. Pardinho struck out Ford before Gonzalez reached base on another Doughty throwing miscue at third that pulled McCarty off the bag at first. McCarty appeared to get Gonzalez on the swipe tag at first but first base umpire Daniel Bytheway did not agree. Windish then singled to right and Young got the wave home but he was thrown out on a 9-4-2 play at the plate as Hernández tagged Young on the hand. That helped Pardinho get out of the inning.
Leon Hunter came into the game for the AquaSox and surrendered a Gabby Martinez double to right as the result of a sinking liner that a diving Knight could not get to as he ball skidded away from him. Hunter appeared to strike out Spain but was given a reprieve by home plate ump Robert Ginther III. After Everett manager Ryan Scott argued the call, Spain would strike out on the next pitch.
Justin Kelly was brought in for the ninth and gave up a Salvatore one-out base hit to left. Salvatore got to second on a Knight ground out to third and moved up to third base on a passed ball by Hernández. The C’s backstop appeared to take the pitch off the top of his glove hand and was shaken up but he remained in the game for the final out. Kelly got Rambusch to line out to Kasevich at short to clinch the 2023 Northwest League championship for the Vancouver Canadians.
C-Notes
Anders Tolhurst was credited with the win which marked the biggest margin of victory in a playoff clincher for the C’s. Their 10-2 win surpassed the 9-2 triumph over Tri-City to capture the 2011 Northwest League Championship crown. A tip of the cap to former C’s broadcaster Rob Fai for that revelation.
Congratulations to the entire Vancouver Canadians organization and thanks a million for allowing me to be a witness for all of it.
Watch this space for more content about the Northwest League was won by Vancouver for the fifth time in history after winning it all in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2017. Speaking of 2017, I borrowed a line from The Fugitive when Samuel Gerard (played by Tommy Lee Jones) told Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) near the end of the movie, ‘It’s over now. You know, I’m glad. I need the rest.’ Back in 2017, it was short season ball for the C’s when they played 76 games. This year, it was a 132-game schedule so that line really applies.
C’s Alumni Report
Back-to-back home runs by Damiano Palmegiani (2022) and Orelvis Martinez (2021) in the fifth inning and a bases-loaded walk by Cam Eden (2019, 2021-2022) in the 10th proved to be the difference to help Buffalo defeat Scranton-Wilkes/Barre on Saturday.
Michael Turconi hit his third homer of the year for New Hampshire on Saturday against Somerset.
Radar Gun Rundown
Jennings was at 81-97 miles per hour with strikeouts at 96, 87, 87, 82 (foul tip) and 93. Tolhurst was at 79-95 with strikeouts of 84 (2) and 93. Pardinho was at 82 with a punchout of 97. Kelly was at 84-94.
C-Tweets
https://twitter.com/RobFai/status/1703172475293732912
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