Spokane Indians slump continues in 9-3 loss to Everett

They say hitting is contagious, but so are slumps.

The Spokane Indians are mired in a deep team-wide hitting slump. After suffering their seventh consecutive loss Tuesday, the Indians had scored two or fewer runs in five of their past seven games.

It didn’t get better on Wednesday until a modest ninth-inning rally – and the visitors had no such problems.

The Indians managed just seven base runners and fell to the Everett AquaSox 9-3 in the second of a six-game High-A Northwest League series at Avista Stadium on Wednesday.

Spokane (29-36) had just two runners reach as far as second base in the first eight innings before Charlie Condon’s long solo home run leading off the ninth.

The AquaSox (36-29) hit five home runs, including two by Freuddy Batista. Cole Emerson went 4 for 5 with a homer and scored twice.

Everett tied Vancouver for first place with one game to play in the first-half race. Vancouver lost 8-1 at Eugene.

Braxton Hyde, making his second start of the season for the Indians after his first 17 appearances came in relief, tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out three, throwing 27 of his 46 pitches for strikes.

It went downhill from there.

Everett grabbed the lead in the fourth off reliever Cole Omlid (6-2). Lazaro Montes led off with a walk and went to second on a wild pitch. With two down, Batista crushed a 0-1 fastball halfway up the netting above the wall in left-center for a 2-0 lead.

It got worse for Omlid in the fifth.

No. 9 hitter Josh Caron made it 3-0 when he led off the inning with a line-drive homer to left-center, his sixth of the season. Omlid walked Charlie Pagliarini then Emerson singled. With one down, Montes crushed a 2-0 fastball off the top of the flagpole carrying the Canadian flag in right-center for his league-leading 15 home run of the season and a 6-0 lead.

Hunter Mann took over on the hill for the Indians in the sixth and was greeted by Bautista’s second homer of the game, a shot to left-center that went over the netting and into the parking lot.

Spokane went without a base runner from the second until one down in the sixth, when Braylen Wimmer drew a one-out walk.

But he was left stranded after Condon and Aidan Longwell popped out.

The Indians finally got on the board in the seventh. Andy Perez doubled, went to third on a flyout and scored on a balk.

Emerson led off the ninth by depositing a fastball by reliever Austin Becker into the parking lot beyond the right-field plaza.

The series continues Thursday at 6:35 p.m. The second half of the season begins Friday.