The Eugene Emeralds fell to the Everett AquaSox by a final score of 7-4 in extra innings. The Emerald record moves to 54-53 on the season and 20-21 in the 2nd half. They now sit 3 games out of a playoff spot.
The first 3 innings cruised by as both ball clubs were held in check. In the bottom of the 4th inning the Emeralds were finally able to put up the first run of the game. Aeverson Arteaga hit a solo home run to center field. Arteaga now has 16 homers on the season and his power has been coming through in a big way over the past month or so. It was Arteaga’s lone hit of the ballgame; however, he reached base one more time via walk.
In the top of the 5th inning the AquaSox were able to tie the ballgame up. Ben Ramirez hit a solo home run to right center field for his 8th home run of the season and his 2nd home run this week. However, the Ems responded right away in the bottom of the 9th inning. The other night Ghordy Santos hit a walk off home run and he followed it up tonight by hitting a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 5th. Santos has been on fire at the plate recently. It was his 11th home run of the season.
The Emeralds were able to coast through the next few innings and took a 2-run lead into the top of the 9th inning. The AquaSox were able to tie the game up in the top of the 9th. Hogan Windish and Ben Ramirez were on base and James Parker hit a single out to right field. Windish was able to come home and score on the play. With 2-outs, Blake Rambusch stepped into the box and needed a base hit to keep the AquaSox chances alive. He was able to single out to left field and Victor Labrada came home to tie the ballgame up at 3-3.
In the bottom of the 9th the Emeralds weren’t able to generate any offense and the game was sent to extra innings. Harry Ford led the inning off with Cole Young at 2nd. Ford doubled down the left field line and Young came home to score on the play. Gabriel Gonzalez was able to reach base before Tyler Locklear stepped into the box. He connected with a baseball and sent it over the left field wall for the 3-run home run to give Everett the 7-3 lead. The Emeralds then turned to Damon Dues to pitch who had been playing at 3rd base. Dues pitched fantastically and struck out 2 batters and didn’t give up a single base runner.
In the bottom of the 10th the Emeralds were able to chip into the lead. Carter Howell hit into a groundout and Damon Dues came home to score on the play. Aeverson Arteaga drew a walk to bring the game’s tying run to the plate in Thomas Gavello. He was pinch-hitting for Jared Dupere. Gavello battled at the plate but ultimately, he hit a popup to the 3rd base side to end the ballgame and give Everett the 7-4 victory in tonight’s ballgame.
Trevor McDonald was the starting pitcher in tonight’s game and he had a fantastic showing. He pitched 4 innings and gave up just 1 hit while striking out 2 batters. McDonald has looked dominant since returning from an injury last week. Matt Mikulski came in for relief of McDonald and pitched 3 solid innings. He gave up 2 hits and 1 run while striking out 2 batters. He also didn’t issue a single free pass. Brett Standlee pitched 2 innings and gave up 9 hits and 6 runs with 5 of them being earned. Damon Dues pitched the 10th inning after Standlee and didn’t allow a base runner while striking out 2.The Emeralds will now look to take the series finale tomorrow night. A win tomorrow would give Eugene the series split after dropping 3 out of the first 5 games of the series. First pitch is set for 4:05 P.M.
