Dust Devils Swept Despite Late Offensive Sparks

It was a grueling holiday weekend on the road for the Tri-City Dust Devils, who ran into a red-hot Everett AquaSox lineup at Everett Memorial Stadium. Despite staging multiple late-inning comeback attempts and seeing solid sparks of production from the batting order, the Dust Devils were unable to contain Everett’s explosive offense, resulting in a tough three-game sweep.

Dust Devils Weekend Scoreboard

• Friday, July 3: Everett AquaSox 15, Tri-City Dust Devils 2

• Saturday, July 4: Everett AquaSox 6, Tri-City Dust Devils 3

• Sunday, July 5: Everett AquaSox 11, Tri-City Dust Devils 6

Game-by-Game Breakdown

Friday: Quiet Bats and a Tough Opener

The series opened on Friday night in front of 2,251 fans, and Everett’s offense wasted no time, launching three solo home runs in the very first inning. Dust Devils pitchers found themselves in a deep hole early as AquaSox starter Colton Shaw silenced Tri-City’s bats, racking up 11 strikeouts and giving up just a single hit over six shutout innings.

Tri-City finally broke through in the top of the eighth when Jorge Ruiz drove in a run with an RBI single, followed by a bases-loaded walk from Harold Coll. Ultimately, the early deficit was too much to overcome, ending in a 15-2 loss.

Saturday: A Fourth of July Battle

Independence Day brought a much tighter contest before a packed crowd of 3,797. Both starting pitchers locked into a stellar duel, keeping the game tied scoreless through the first three innings. The Dust Devils struck first in the top of the fourth when David Mershon drew a leadoff walk, setting the stage for Aaron Graeber, who crushed a thrilling two-run home run to right field to put Tri-City up 2-0.

Everett chipped away in the later frames, eventually pulling ahead to a 6-2 lead. Harold Coll provided another late spark in the top of the eighth with a spectacular solo home run, but the rally fell just short, resulting in a hard-fought 6-3 defeat.

Sunday: High-Scoring Finale

The weekend wrapped up on Sunday Fun Day with a high-scoring 11-6 affair. Everett jumped out to an early 8-0 lead by the third inning, but the Dust Devils refused to go quietly and fought until the final out.

Tri-City began mounting a comeback in the top of the fifth, executing a two-run rally fueled by a Johan Macias RBI double and another clutch RBI single from Jorge Ruiz. The bats kept clicking in the seventh when Randy De Jesus lined a clutch single to drive home both Ruiz and Coll, slicing the deficit to 8-4. Johan Macias added a solo home run in the eighth, and Peter Burns hit an RBI double in the ninth, but Everett’s early cushion secured them the victory.

Northwest League Standings (Second Half)

Following the weekend action, here is how the second-half landscape shapes up across the Northwest League:

The Silver Lining: While it was a tough stretch on the road, the continuous late-game offensive production from key pieces like Macias, Ruiz, and Coll proves this team has plenty of resilience and fight left as they return home to reset.