By: Jacob Archer
PASCO, WA — The Emeralds were able to bounce back and defeated the Tri-City Dust Devils by a final score of 4-2 in extra innings. The Ems now have a 2-1 series lead as they gear up to play the final 3 games against Tri-City this weekend.
The Ems were able to strike first tonight against the Dust Devils with a run in the top of the 2nd inning. After a quick 2 outs the Emeralds were able to load up the bases on a double and a pair of walks. Diego Velasquez was at third base and after a wild pitch got past the catcher Caleb Pendleton Velasquez came home to score and gave the Ems the early advantage.
Jack Choate was the starter tonight for Eugene and he started out the game with 12 straight batters retired. He was phenomenal all around tonight. In the 5th inning the Dust Devils were able to take the 2-1 lead after Chad Stevens led off the inning with a single. Andy Blake ended up reaching base via error as Jack Choate couldn’t quite complete the throw to Andrew Kachel at 1st base. Stevens ended up scoring all the way from 1st and Blake ended up at 3rd base. The next batter, Kevin Bruggeman, hit an RBI-Single to give Tri-City the 2-1 lead through 5 innings.
Jack Choate ended up pitching the 6th inning to cap off a stellar performance. He gave up 3 hits and 2 runs, although just 1 of the runs was earned. He walked 2 batters and struck out 5. Choate didn’t factor into the decision but it was another strong outing for Choate as his ERA has now dropped all the way to 2.11 on the season.
After a scoreless 6th inning the Emeralds were able to tie up the game in the top of the 7th inning. Turner Hill started off the inning with a walk and Justin Wishkoski followed it up with an infield single to put runners on at 1st and 2nd. A couple of batters later the Emeralds put on the double steal and Caleb Pendleton attempted to throw out Hill at 3rd but ended up airmailing the throw to left field and Hill scored on the play.
It was a scoreless 8th and 9th inning for the two ball clubs. Cam Cotter pitched the bottom of the 9th and things got scary for a moment as the Dust Devils had runners on the corners with 2 outs but Cotter was able to strike out Ruiz to end the inning and send the game to extras.
Eugene was just 1-3 in extra innings heading into tonight’s game but they were able to turn their luck around in a big way. Quinn McDaniel led off the inning with a double which scored Matt Higgins who had been placed on 2nd base. Andrew Kachel then hit a double of his own to trade places with McDaniel and the Ems had jumped out to a 4-2 lead. Unfortunately the scoring stopped there for the Emeralds as they headed into the bottom of the 10th inning.
Cam Cotter came out to pitch the 10th and he was flawless in the frame. He sent down the Dust Devils in order with a pair of pop outs and a strikeout. Cotter earned his 4th victory of the season which was great to see as he has been as reliable as they come out of the bullpen.
There are now just 13 games left to go in the 1st half and the Emeralds have their eyes on the 1st half title in the Northwest League. After a Spokane victory today the Emeralds will stay a game out of 1st place with both Vancouver & Hillsboro tied for 3rd place at 3 games out of first. It’ll be a big next 3 ball games for the Emeralds here in Pasco Washington as they look to at least keep pace with Spokane to stay in arm’s reach of first place.
Manuel Mercedes is the starter tomorrow for the Emeralds with first pitch set for 6:30 P.M.
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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