AquaSox lose three straight to split Eugene series
Published 9:30 am Monday, June 29, 2026
The Everett AquaSox lost their third straight game against the Eugene Emeralds at PK Park on Sunday to split the six-game series. Both teams now sit in a four-way tie at the bottom of the Northwest League second-half standings at 4-5 behind Hillsboro (6-3) and Spokane (5-4). The Emeralds already clinched a spot in the 2026 Northwest League Championship series in September by winning the first-half title.
Eugene built up an 8-0 lead through seven innings on Sunday before settling at a 9-1 victory. AquaSox starter Walter Ford allowed 10 hits and six earned runs through six innings to drop to 0-7 on the season. Relievers Gabriel Sosa and Christian Little each pitched one inning, allowing a combined two hits and three runs. Outfielder Carlos Jimenez went 2-for-4, and infielder Brandon Eike (1-for-4) drove in the lone run with an RBI groundout in the top of the eighth.
Emeralds outfielder Lisbel Diaz opened the scoring with an RBI single in the second inning, and infielders Jhonny Level and Gavin Kilen had back-to-back extra-base hits to push the lead to 3-0. Level sent a line drive double to center field to score designated hitter Trevor Cohen, and Kilen legged out his first triple of the season to bring Level home. Outfielder Dakota Jordan grounded out Everett shortstop Felnin Celesten in the following plate appearance, allowing Kilen to score and make it 4-0.
Eugene starter Niko Mazza held the AquaSox bats at bay, allowing just three hits and two walks in five scoreless innings while racking up seven strikeouts, and three different Emeralds players hit home runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
Outfielder Carlos Gutierrez and Diaz hit back-to-back solo shots to extend the lead to 6-0 in the sixth, and Jordan hit a two-run blast off Sosa in the seventh to make it 8-0. Cohen wrapped things up with an RBI single in the eighth inning after Eike got Everett on the board in the top of the frame.
The AquaSox return to Everett Memorial Stadium on Tuesday for a six-game series against the Tri-City Dust Devils.
Friday’s double-header
Everett suffered not one, but two walk-off losses to Eugene on Friday.
After the second half of Thursday’s originally scheduled double-header was suspended due to rain, the two teams picked up where they left off on Friday. The Emeralds led 6-5 in the top of the third after Kilen hit a pair of two-run homers in the first and second innings, respectively, and Level ripped a two-run single in between to make it 6-0 after two innings.
The AquaSox surged back with five runs in the third as six consecutive players reached base with one out. Outfielder Curtis Washington Jr. started the rally with a single, then stole second and third before outfielder Jonny Farmelo singled him home to cut it to 6-1. Catcher Josh Caron doubled to bring in Farmelo and infielder Axel Sanchez, who worked a walk right after Washington, and Celesten and designated hitter Matthew Ellis had back-to-back RBI base hits to cut it to 6-5.
Once the game resumed on Friday, Eugene catcher Daniel Rogers extended the lead to 7-5 with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third, but Caron tied it 7-7 with his 13th home run of the season, a two-run shot to left field in the top of the fourth.
The score remained tied through seven innings as Everett reliever Reid Easterly allowed just one hit across the fourth and fifth innings, and Lucas Kelly allowed one walk through the sixth and seventh to send the game to extras.
Infielder Austin St. Laurent started the eighth inning on second as the ghost runner, and he scored on an errant pickoff attempt by Emeralds reliever Gerelmi Maldonado to give the AquaSox an 8-7 lead.
However, when Little took over for the save opportunity in the bottom of the eighth, he tossed just four pitches before infielder Walker Martin hit a walk-off, two-run homer that scored ghost runner Jakob Christian for the 9-8 victory.
In Friday’s second game, Everett’s Eike and Eugene’s Gutierrez each hit solo home runs in the second inning to make it 1-1, but the Emeralds took a 3-1 lead in the third when Kilen hit an RBI double and Christian hit a sacrifice fly in back-to-back plate appearances.
The AquaSox loaded the bases in the top of the seventh with no outs after singles from Caron and Eike plus a walk from Jimenez, and Caron scored from third on a passed ball to cut it to 3-2. Eugene reliever Liam Simon picked up two outs to bring Everett down to its final chance, but Washington hit a game-tying RBI single. St. Laurent was put out trying to advance to third base, so the game went into the bottom of the seventh tied 3-3.
AquaSox reliever Adam Smith allowed a double to Cohen, then retired Jordan to become one out away from sending the game to extras. However, Kilen had other plans.
The 13th overall pick from the 2025 MLB Draft sent an RBI double to right field, scoring Cohen to walk off Everett for the second time of the night in the 4-3 win.
