Vancouver, BC – The Emeralds opened up a 6-game series against the Vancouver Canadians with a thrilling 11-8 victory. The Emeralds had 12 hits and 10 walks and never let their foot off the gas at the plate.
The Canadians jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st. The Emeralds were finally able to get on the board in the top of the 3rd inning. Onil Perez drew a lead off walk and James Tibbs III drew a 1-out walk to put a pair of runners on. Charlie Szykowny ripped a double to bring home both runs and cut the lead to 1 run.
In the top of the 4th the Ems were able to take their first lead of the night. Scott Bandura started off the inning with a single and Zane Zielinski doubled to bring him home. Onil Perez was able to single to give the Ems the 4-3 lead. The lead wouldn’t last long however as the Candians put up a 4 spot in the bottom of the inning to take a 7-4 lead.
The Ems just continued to chip away. In the top of the 5th Jonah Cox drew a walk and immediately stole 2nd base. He was able to get into 3rd on a wild pitch and a few batters later Quinn McDaniel hit a single to bring him home and cut the lead to just 2 runs.
In the top of the 6th, Thomas Gavello led off the inning by reaching on an error. Jonah Cox drew a walk and both players put on a double steal. With 2-outs, McDaniel dropped a beautiful bunt down the 3rd base line that scored Gavello and tied up the game at 7-7 through 6 innings.
It was a scoreless 7th inning for the two clubs but in the top of the 8th they were able to claim the lead once again. Szykowny started off the inning with a double and with 2-outs and 2 strikes, Zane Zielinski ripped a single to right field to bring home the run and give the Ems the 8-7 lead.
Eugene added 3 more runs of insurance in the top of the 9th inning. Perez started off the inning with a walk and Jack Payton singled to put a pair of runners on. Gavello grounded out to bring home a run and Cox ripped a double to score another. The final run of the night came on a sac-fly RBI from McDaniel.
Vancouver pushed home 1 run in the bottom of the 9th but that proved to be it as the Emeralds took game one by a final score of 11-8. The Emeralds now sit at 5-5 on the year with 5 more games left in Vancouver.
The Ems will now get ready for game 2 against Vancouver tomorrow night. First pitch is set for 7:05 PM with Josh Wolf on the mound.
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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