By: Jacob Archer
EUGENE, OR – The Emeralds dropped the 2nd game of the series by a final score of 6-4. The Emeralds fell behind 5-0 through the first 5 innings and their late inning rally wasn’t enough as they dropped their first road game of the season.
Spokane jumped all over starter Manuel Mercedes tonight, scoring 5 runs in the first 4 innings. Mercedes had some strong moments on the mound, but Spokane’s lethal bats were just a little bit too much. The Emeralds were able to score their first 2 runs of the ballgame in the top of the 5th inning. The bases were loaded with 2-outs for Onil Perez. On a 3-2 count he delivered a single to right field that scored both Turner Hill and Quinn McDaniel on the play. Matt Higgins was on 1st base and tried getting to 3rdbut right fielder Robby Martin Jr threw a fantastic throw to 3rd and Kyle Karros was able to apply the tag on Higgins to end the inning.
Spokane added 1 more run of insurance in the bottom of the 5th for their 6th and final run of the evening. These two teams last year had dramatic finish after dramatic finish at Avista Stadium, and that proved true once again tonight.
Heading into the 9th the Emeralds were trailing by 4 but it just felt like they were going to find a way to make things interesting. Alexander Suarez started off the inning with an infield single and Turner Hill was able to draw a walk to put a pair of runners on. Justin Wishkoski was battling at the plate and with 2 strikes he delivered and RBI-Double off the left field wall to cut the deficit to just 3 runs and bring the game tying run up to the plate.
Quinn McDaniel struck out for the first out of the inning, and Matt Higgins hit into a ground out to score a run and advance the runner to third base. Onil Perez was the game tying run and with two outs hit a hard ground ball that Kyle Karros was able to glove at 3rd and ended the game.
The Emeralds record now sits at 16-7 on the season and they move back into a tie with Spokane for 1st place in the Northwest League Standings. With four more games left this week, these two teams are almost certainly in store for a dramatic week of baseball. Both games have been close and filled with late inning plays, and we’ll see if that carries over the rest of the week.
First pitch for game 3 is set for 6:35 P.M tomorrow night,
The Eugene Emeralds are the High-A affiliate of Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants. The Eugene Emeralds are dedicated to providing the best in family entertainment and creating a fun, safe environment for everyone to enjoy watching a baseball game. For more information, please visit our website at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or call the Emeralds front office at 541-342-5367. • Emeraldsbaseball.com • Facebook.com/EugeneEmeraldsfanpage • Twitter.com/EugeneEmeralds
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