Bears Fall To AquaSox 2-1

The Yakima Bears lost to the Everett Aquasox 2-1 Friday night at Yakima County Stadium. The win for Everett clinched a playoff berth, as the AquaSox have now joined the Bears as the two teams to earn postseason slots in the first half.

The AquaSox starting pitcher tossed a gem against the Bears, as Dylan Unsworth improved to 5-0 with a seven inning performance that featured only one run allowed on five hits and no walks. Unsworth pitched with the lead for the most part, with a trio of singles plating a run in the second inning. Josh Parr doubled in the sixth inning and was driven in by a Wagner Mateo single to tie the game at 1-1. The AquaSox took the lead for good when the lead-off man reached on an error and later scored an unearned run on a double.

The loss was the first of the season for Victor Capellan, who allowed only the one unearned run on one hit and a walk in two innings of work. Starter Cody Wheeler allowed one run on five hits and no walks in four innings. In his professional debut, Derrick Stultz threw two scoreless innings. Jose Jose pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

The Bears were outhit 7-6, but had an extra-base hit for the first time in four games. Parr’s double was his only hit of the night. Mateo went 2-for-3 with the lone walk and lone RBI for the Bears. Michael Lang, Danny Poma, and Yogey Perez-Ramos all went 1-for-3 in the losing effort.

Trailing the series 0-2, the 20-15 Yakima Bears will play the Everett AquaSox in game three of the five-game series Saturday. Game time is scheduled for 7:05. Right-handed pitcher Blake Perry is the probable starter for the Bears, while lefty Rusty Shellhorn is expected to go for the AquaSox.