By: Jacob Archer
The Emeralds pitching staff kept the ball rolling once again tonight in a 7-2 victory over the Everett AquaSox. The Ems have now won the first 2 games of the road trip and move to 4-1 on the season.
Last night it was the AquaSox who struck first in the ballgame but the Emeralds decided to return the answer tonight. Scott Bandura and Diego Velasquez both reached base via error to start off the game. Matt Higgins kept his great week at the plate rolling with an RBI-Single that scored Bandura on the play. The next batter, Zach Morgan, hit a sacrifice-fly that scored Velasquez and gave the Ems the 2-0 lead.
The Ems added on another pair of runs in the 4th inning. Bandura hit into a fielder’s choice and Velasquez was able to hit him home on a 2-out RBI-Double. He then proceeded to steal 3rd base on the very next play. Onil Perez decided to get into the fun and hit an RBI-Single that scored Velasquez on the play. Perez stole 2nd base right after but the Ems weren’t able to cash him in. The Ems held the 4-0 lead after 4 frames.
The AquaSox finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Hunter Fitz-Gerald walked with two outs and Ty Duvall hit him in on an RBI-Double down the first base line. Dylan Cumming was able to get out of the tough spot and it was the lone run he allowed en-route to his first victory as an Emerald. He struck out 4 batters and walked just 2 over the 5 innings of work.
The game was scoreless for the next two frames before the Ems opened things up in the 8th Andrew Kachel drew a walk to start the inning and got to third base after Bandura reached first. What happened next was arguably the highlight of the game as Bandura took off to 2nd base for a stolen base. The throw wasn’t great from the AquaSox catcher Duvall and Kachel elected to steal home. He got there easily for one of the better double-steals you’ll see all year. Bandura eventually came home to score on a Matt Higgins RBI-Single and the Ems reclaimed the 5-run lead.
In the bottom of the 8th Hunter Fitz-Gerald started off the inning with a home run but it proved to be the last run of the night for the Frogs. In the top of the 9th the Emeralds added one more insurance run after Justin Wishkoski started off the inning with a walk. He came home to score on a fielder’s choice by Bandura.
It was an all-around dominant effort for the Ems for the 2nd straight night, and both the pitching staff and bats are really starting to click. More impressively, it hasn’t been one person carrying the load but rather a handful of guys that have been putting in very solid performances.
The Ems are back in action tomorrow for some Matinee baseball with first pitch set for 12:05 P.M. A win tomorrow would guarantee the Ems would at least split this road trip and give them a chance to win the series this weekend.
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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