Spokane Indians defeat Everett with wild three-run ninth inning

EVERETT – After smashing the baseball around for eight innings Wednesday, the Spokane Indians found a pathway to victory that didn’t require a base hit.

A throwing error by Everett pitcher Brock Minich opened the door to a three-run ninth as the Indians rallied for a 10-8 Northwest League win at Funko Field.

Minich (0-5) didn’t allow a hit in 1 1/3 innings, but he walked three and hit two batters in the ninth, allowing Spokane (16-11 second half) to bounce back after it blew a 6-1 lead.

Until the ninth, all Spokane runs had come on homers: three-run shots by Scott Kapers and Blaine Crim, and Kenen Irizarry’s solo shot in the eighth that tied the game at 7.

Everett (13-14) scored once in the ninth before Joe Corbett (3-0) shut the door.

Indians starter Teodoro Ortega allowed four hits and one earned run in four innings, striking out five and walking one. He exited with a 3-1 lead, courtesy of Kapers’ three-run homer in the fourth. It was Kapers’ first homer of the season and the second of his professional career.

Crim’s three-run homer in the fifth, his team-high seventh of the season, boosted the Indians’ edge to 6-1.

Everett responded with a five-run sixth to tie the game. Miguel Perez had a two-run double, cutting the Indians’ lead to 6-5 and scored on a wild pitch.

The AquaSox seized the lead on Patrick Frick’s RBI single to center field in the seventh. Indians center fielder Obie Ricumstrict threw out Robert Perez at home on the play, keeping Everett’s lead at 7-6.

Irizarry’s fourth homer of the season, to right, knotted the game in the eighth.

Starling Joseph, who had walked to lead off the Indians’ ninth, scored the go-ahead run on Minich’s throwing error.

Spokane is 6-5 against the AquaSox this season. The Indians, NWL North Division first-half champions, have won eight of their past 11 games.