Tribe Takes Another Plunge Aqua Sox Hammer Winless Indians 8-1; Struggling Sachse Scores For Everett

Ouch! The Spokane Indians are hurting.

The Everett Aqua Sox beat the Indians 8-1 Monday night at Seafirst Stadium, dropping Spokane’s season record to 0-5.

For the Indians, the game was as gloomy as Monday’s weather.

The Indians started right-handed pitcher Brian Winders, a former Louisiana State University star and Baton Rouge, La., native. He got peppered harder than a bowl of gumbo. Things went downhill in a hurry for Winders after retiring the first two batters.

Jose Amado got a base hit before Joe Pomierski homered on an 0-2 pitch over the left field fence for a 2-0 lead.

Luis Tinoco followed with a double and was later driven in by Randy Vickers, who tripled off the top of the left-center field wall.

Winders was able to close the inning by getting Spokane native and Ferris High alum Matt Sachse to ground out.

After Spokane went down in order in the bottom of the first, Everett went back to work as Dusty Wathan and Chad Sheffer hit backto-back singles. Winders then hit Cy Simonton with a pitch to load the bases.

Ramirez grounded out to first base, but Wathan scored from third to put Everett up 4-0.

Amado followed with a towering three-run homer to left field, giving a Everett a 7-0 lead.

In 1 1/3 innings, Winders gave up seven hits and seven earned runs. He faced 12 batters.

With Everett in control early, much of the fan focus the rest of the night turned to Sachse, who entered the game batting just .091. Sachse went 1 for 4 and scored a run.

The former All-Greater Spokane League baseball and basketball most valuable player is learning early that life outside the GSL isn’t the same.

After graduating from Ferris last year with a 4.0 grade-point average, Sachse was scheduled to attend Stanford University on a baseball scholarship.

But before practice started last year at Stanford, he signed with the Seattle Mariners and passed on playing for the Cardinal.

He attended classes this past year at Stanford but hasn’t played a full season since leaving Spokane. The year layoff shows.

“I’m struggling right now. At the plate, everything is just terrible. My front shoulder is flying out and I’m fouling off pitches all over the place,” he said.

What Sachse is also getting used to is the better competition.

“Now, all the pitchers throw the ball 80-85 miles an hour. I only saw that once in high school and that was against (Tony) Mounce.”

Mounce, from Kamiakin, is in his second year as a pitcher in the Atlanta farm system.

Wood bats have been a problem, too. Sachse said he only used aluminum before. “I’m still trying to get used to getting the bat head out because they’re so much heavier.”

In his first Seafirst appearance as a pro, Sachse said he wasn’t nervous. He said he would have like to have gone 4 for 4, but he knows it will be a while before his skills come back to him.

“I want to do well, but I’ve got to be patient,” he said.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: On deck The Indians host Everett again tonight at 7:05