Cole Carrigg races home with winning run in ninth, Spokane Indians edge Everett 5-4
For the second night in a row, things weren’t settled between the Spokane Indians and the Everett AquaSox until the last out. Unlike Tuesday’s loss, this time the home team came out on top.
Cole Carrigg raced around the bases with the winning run after a throwing error in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Indians edged the AquaSox 5-4 in a Northwest League game at Avista Stadium on Wednesday.
Carrigg led off the ninth with a single, then Dyan Jorge hit a hard grounder to second.
In his hurry to get the force at second, Michael Arroyo overthrew the shortstop and the ball carried into the Indians’ bullpen down the left-field line.
“Dyan hit a good ball to the right side,” Carrigg said. “I saw Arroyo field it, and honestly I was trying to beat it to second, because I figured he would try to go there.”
Carrigg, who was waved home by manager Robinson Cancel, never slowed at third and he scored without a throw before being mobbed by his teammates in the infield.
“I just kept running – Robbie was sending me the whole way,” Carrigg said.
The win avenged Tuesday’s extra-innings loss and snapped a modest two-game skid for the Indians (12-5 second half).
“We made a good comeback last night, the boys fought well,” Carrigg said. “I thought we kind of let that one get away a little bit. We could have had them there at the end. But no big, we’re never down and we always come back.”
Everett (9-8) had the early advantage. Arroyo jumped on Indians starter Blake Adams’ second pitch of the game for a long homer to left-center. Everett scored again in the second on Andrew Miller’s RBI double off the base of the center-field wall.
The Indians had the bases loaded with one out in the second, but only got one run as Carrigg grounded out and Jorge lined out.
They had first and third with no outs in the third on consecutive singles by Kyle Karros and Juan Guerrero, and tied the game on a double steal.
It remained tied until the bottom of the sixth. GJ Hill walked and moved to second on a balk. Jesus Ordonez offered a sacrifice bunt, but pitcher Stefan Raeth hesitated when second baseman Arroyo was late covering. Raeth threw it over Arroyo’s head and into the visitors’ bullpen and Hill raced home with the go-ahead run and Ordonez ended up at third.
Carrigg lined one into the left-field corner, which was originally ruled foul by base umpire Jabril Geter-Abdullah. But after conferring with home plate ump Tyler Hovick, it was ruled fair, Ordonez scored and Carrigg went to second with a double.
The AquaSox tied it in the eighth on run-scoring hits by Caleb Cali and Bill Knight off reliever Welinton Herrera
.