Arrow-right Camera
Subscribe now
Spokane Indians

Everett’s Kyle Lewis heats up as Indians lose fifth straight

By Josh Horton joshho@spokesman.com

Trust the process is a motto that Everett AquaSox center fielder Kyle Lewis abides by. And lately, it’s been paying off.

Lewis, the Seattle Mariners’ first round pick in 2016, went 2 for 3 with three RBIs and two walks in Everett’s 10-5 shellacking of the Spokane Indians at Avista Stadium on Tuesday. It followed a 2 for 4, five RBI performance in Everett’s 13-1 clobbering of Boise on Monday.

Despite the high expectations that come with being a first round pick, Lewis is focused on the process.

“I just try and be myself,” said Lewis, who has raised his average from .175 to .234 the last two games.

Lewis was drafted No. 11 overall by the Mariners out of Mercer University, where he was a First Team All-America selection by Baseball America. Despite struggling early on, Lewis didn’t doubt his skills.

“I’m a guy with a leg kick [at the plate], I’m trying to get my timing,” Lewis said. “I feel like I was getting some good swings off. Now that I’m able to have some success, hopefully I can keep it going to next game.”

The Mariners organization also weren’t sweating his opening season struggles, nor were are they worried about Lewis handling the pressure of being a first round pick.

“Pressure is a state of the mind,” Everett assistant coach Brian Hunter said. “He’s just going to continue to get better everyday. He’s handled the pressure very well and will handle being a huge star well, too.”

While Lewis has just started to get his feel back offensively, he hasn’t missed a beat playing in center field, according to Hunter. He showed that tonight, tracking back to his left to the warning track and reaching out to make a catch in the seventh inning, robbing an extra-base hit.

“[He has] big range,” Hunter said. “What I love about him, is that early on he wasn’t let those at-bats effect his defense. That’s very mature from a player.”

Lewis poked his first hit to the outfield in the fourth inning, driving a two-RBI single that dropped after Indians’ center fielder Travis Bolin couldn’t complete a diving play, putting the AquaSox up 6-5. Earlier, Blaine Prescott’s two-out, three-run home run to left field in the third inning gave the Indians a 5-3 lead.

An RBI single from Lewis in the eighth scored Cowan, who reached on a double to right field, pushing the AquaSox’s lead to 10-5 after pouring on three runs in the sixth.