Four runs in the sixth inning elevated the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Canadians to a 5-1 win over the Everett AquaSox in the first meeting of the three-game North West League divisional pennant Tuesday night at Nat Bailey Stadium.
Assertive pitching from the bullpen and a confident final inning from C’s closer Chuck Ghysels secured the lead. The curious, unidentified object hovering beyond the right field wall didn’t get in anyone’s way.
Down 1-0 after four innings, the C’s scored the tying run in the bottom of the fifth when Brendan Kalfus stole home on a wild pitch out of the hand of Everett left-hander Jake Zolan.
One inning later the home team cranked up the offence. Andy Fermin opened with a single, Mitch Nay hit a hard ground ball over the pitcher’s mound, and L.B. Danztler nailed what would have been a two RBI home run in many other parks. His hit went about 365 feet to bounce off the wall and score one runner.
Everett loaded the bases and then walked Mike Reeve to concede a run with Kalfus back at the plate. Batting .268 on the season and .500 on the night, Kalfus singled and brought home two more runners to give the Canadians a four-run lead.
Tom Robson, a right-handed Ladner talent and a product of the Langley Blaze, started for the C’s and entered the game with a 3-0 season record and a negligible .94 ERA. He struck out 29 and walked 11 in seven games this season and agaist Everett Tuesday night allowed five hits in five innings while striking out out four batters.
Matt Dermody pitched two innings and was credited with his first win in Vancouver. Garrett Pickens got his turn at the plate and then Canadians closer Chuck Ghysels stepped up in the top of the ninth and struck out two batters in a row. The game ended with a pop fly to left field and Ghysels pumped his fists and shouted as he strode forward off the mound.
The Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Canadians backed into the playoffs, finishing behind Everett and Spokane in the second half of the season and failing even to clear .500 in the race for the second-half pennant. But they clinched a playoff spot on the weekend after Everett won both the first and second halves of the season, meaning the team with the next best combined overall average would advance. With a 39-37 record and a single game ahead of Spokane, that team was Vancouver.Â
The C’s travel to Everett Memorial Stadium for Game Two on Wednesday and, if needed, Game Three on Thursday. The winner meets the south divisional winner for the Northwest League championship.
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