The Vancouver Canadians rallied for an 8-7 victory over the Everett AquaSox at Funko Field on Saturday.

Ryan Jennings was scheduled to start the game for Vancouver but it was Carson Pierce on the mound instead. Brock Rodden had an infield single to short and Victor Labrada walked to open the bottom of the first. A one-out Jared Sundstrom double toright-center scored Rodden to put Everett ahead. Pierce struck out Bill Knight but Labrada and Sundstrom would score on a Caleb Cali triple off the center field wall just above a leaping Dasan Brown. Cali then scored on a single to right by Hunter Fitz-Gerald to make it 4-0 Everett.

The AquaSox scored again in the top of the second when Andrew Miller‘s leadoff single to left came home on a one-out Labrada double to left.

Everett upped its lead to a converted touchdown in the fifth when Josh Hood drew a one-out walk and came in to score on a Sundstrom home run to left off Chay Yeager.

Vancouver responded with a field goal in the seventh against Joseph Hernández. A one-out walk by Glenn Santiago and a two-out walk by Brown were driven home when Nick Goodwin blasted a three-run home run to right-center. Jace Bohrofen was hit by a pitch in the back and Jackson Hornung singled to center to extend the inning. Jason Ruffcorn was brought in from the Frogs bullpen and struck out Peyton Williams looking after a nine-pitch at-bat.

The C’s crept a little closer in the eighth when Jamari Baylor opened the inning with a walk. He moved to second on a Jeff Wehler groundout. A throwing error by Axel Sánchez at short allowed Santiago to reach base. Santiago was forced out on a Robert Brooks 5-4 fielder’s choice that moved Baylor to third. Baylor and Brooks would come in to score on a Brown two-run triple to left. Juan Burgos replaced Ruffcorn and stranded Brown at third by striking out Goodwin.

Vancouver would rally again in the ninth when Hornung singled to left with one out against Burgos. Pinch-runner Estiven Machado got to second when Peyton Williams made it to first on an infield single that clanked off the second base bag before being mishandled by Sánchez at short. Dylan Rock pinch-ran for Williams and he and his pinch-running partner Machado would cross the plate when Baylor connected for a three-run home run to right-center to put the C’s in the lead. Wehler then singled to center and was replaced on the base paths by Jean Arnaez.

A whole slew of defensive changes were made as Machado entered the game at short and Goodwin moved to third. Santiago moved from third to left and Arnaez was at first to replace Wehler and Goodwin respectively. That was the alignment for Anders Tolhurst and he closed it out by striking out Miller and Rodden before getting Labrada to pop up to Baylor at second.

C-Notes

C's Notes

Goodwin had the first base hit for Vancouver with one out in the first inning and Wehler also had a one-out single to left off Everett starter Brandyn Garcia but they were stranded as Garcia struck out two in the first inning and three more in the second.

Bohrofen reached on a fielding error by Rodden at second in the third inning and Peyton Williams walked in the fourth but neither of those runners went anywhere. Wehler lined out in a 4-3 double play to end the fourth inning. Brown’s one-out walk in the fifth inning and a Hornung walk in the sixth also went for naught. Garcia struck out two in the fifth and added one more in the sixth. Holden Laws relieved Garcia after the walk to Hornung and struck out two more to complete the fanning of the side in the sixth.

Josh Mollerus began the shutout relief for the C’s by striking out Sánchez and Miller en route to a perfect sixth inning. He overcame a two-out Hornung fielding error at first base in the seventh by striking out the side as Hood, Labrada and Knight all went down swinging.

Conor Larkin wound up with the win as he faced the minimum in the eighth inning. He bracketed a one-out Fitz-Gerald base hit to left with strikeouts of Cali and Sánchez. Brooks then threw out Fitz-Gerald trying to steal second on a 2-4 putout. The C’s new catcher bounced a throw from his knees but Baylor tagged Fitz-Gerald out when he slipped off the second base bag after a feet-first slide.

The Canadians added a new catcher to the roster in time for Saturday’s game in Robert Brooks. The 25-year-old from Marietta, Georgia was in the Tampa Bay Rays system last season but was playing for the Atlantic League’s Staten Island FerryHawks this season, the same team Jeff Wehler played for in 2023. With the FerryHawks, Brooks slashed .354/.514/.636 with five doubles, six home runs and 20 runs batted in to go along with three stolen bases in 27 games. The 5-foot-8, 215-pound backstop attended college at Division II Columbus State University. He will wear number 22 for Monty’s Mounties.

The C’s look for a series split as Rafael Sánchez will sling from the slope for Vancouver. Game time is 4:05 p.m. on CanadiansBasball and MiLB.TV.

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C’s Plus Baseball strives to deliver plus coverage of the C’s through photos, observations and interviews of the players striving to make it to the major leagues. If you like what you see here, please spread the word about CsPlusBaseball.ca through your favourite social media platform. This blog began just before the C's championship season in 2017 and the goal is to deliver awesome content about Canada’s only affiliated professional minor league baseball club. Thanks a million for being here!

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