AquaSox squeak past Indians

Mike Wilson had to choose between football and baseball three years ago.

The Spokane Indians probably wish that Wilson had selected football.

Wilson answered Spokane’s rally attempts with a home run and a sacrifice fly Tuesday night to guide the Everett AquaSox to a 6-5 win in Northwest League baseball play at Avista Stadium.

Everett (29-22) leads the five-game series 2-1 and is 5-3 against the Indians this season. The AquaSox also remained three games ahead of Salem-Keizer in the West Division.

Spokane (26-25) lost its second consecutive game, but didn’t lose ground in the East Division. Boise (28-23) and Tri-City are tied for first place in the East, two games ahead of the Indians.

Wilson, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound outfielder, graduated from Booker T. High School in Tulsa, Okla., in 2001. He was selected in the second round of the 2001 amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners, but before signing a contract he weighed an option to play football for the University of Oklahoma.

“I was just negotiating (with Seattle) back and forth and finally got the number I liked,” Wilson said.

Wilson’s 2002 season at Peoria of the Arizona Rookie League was hampered by a hamstring injury. Wilson returned to Peoria last summer and hit .311 in 48 games.

For this season, Wilson changed from being a switch-hitter to a right-handed hitter.

“They have me standing taller in my stance now,” he said. “I used to crouch down more.”

The adjustment has increased Wilson’s power numbers. After hitting seven homers in 320 at-bats at Peoria the last two years, Wilson has seven homers 168 at-bats with Everett.

His fourth-inning solo homer against Kevin Altman gave the AquaSox a two-run cushion, at 4-2, right after Spokane scored in its third inning. Wilson hit the first pitch he saw from Altman about 400 feet to left-center field.

Wilson said the Indians hinted earlier in the series that he could only hit fastballs. He was, therefore, looking for an off-speed pitch from Altman, and found a slider to his liking.

Spokane again closed within one run in the fifth, on Mike Nickeas’ run-scoring single past the reach of third baseman Brent Johnson. But Wilson, with Matt Tuiasosopo on third base in the sixth, hit a deep sacrifice fly to left for a 5-3 lead.

The 3-hour, 10-minute game included hot tempers on both sides. Spokane manager Darryl Kennedy was ejected in the fifth after questioning the strike zone of home-plate umpire Garrett Wilson. Everett manager Pedro Grifol was tossed in the seventh when he argued that Spokane reliever Jesse Ingram was stalling too long after warming up.

The Indians stranded 11 runners, leaving the bases full in the second and sixth.

Starter J.D. Cockroft (1-4) absorbed the loss despite allowing no earned runs in three innings. Third-inning errors by shortstop Bobby LeNoir and first baseman Jim Fasano led to three Everett runs and a 3-1 lead.

Fasano atoned with an opposite-field homer to left to lead off the seventh. Neither team scored again.

Since July 28, Fasano is hitting .440 (22 for 50), with four homers, three doubles and 14 RBIs.

Mark Lowe earned his fourth save by striking out the side in the ninth.