By: Jacob Archer
Everett, WA — The Emeralds dropped game 3 against the Everett AquaSox by a final score of 13-11 in 10 innings. The Ems never trailed at any point in the game until the final swing from Jared Sundstrom sent a ball over the right field wall for a walk off victory.
The Ems got the scoring started in the top of the 2nd inning. Charlie Szykowny started the inning with a walk and stole 2nd base. Onil Perez followed it up with an RBI-Single to plate the first run of the night. Perez stole both 2nd and 3rd base and Rodolfo Nolasco hit him in with an RBI-Single of his own. Thomas Gavello got hit by a pitch to put a pair of runners on and Jonah Cox drew a walk to load up the bases. Scott Bandura ripped a double to score 2 runs and Quinn McDaniel followed it up with a double of his own for the 5th and 6th runs of the innings. It was a great frame for Eugene.
The Frogs answered back with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the 2nd inning to cut the deficit in half. It didn’t take long for Eugene to get back on the scoreboard as Bryce Eldridge ripped an RBI-Single that scored Thomas Gavello for the Ems 7th run of the 9th. Sabin Ceballos got involved in the fun as he drove in a run on a fielder’s choice that scored Scott Bandura on the play.
Everett responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the 3rd to try and keep pace with the Ems. In the top of the 4th Szykowny ripped a double to start the top of the frame. Rodolfo Nolasco drew a walk to put a pair of runners on for Thomas Gavello. Gavello had been hit by a pitch his first 2 plate appearances and he made the most of his 3rd time in the box as he hit an RBI-Single. The next batter, Jonah Cox, hit a single of his own to extend the Emeralds lead to 10-4.
In the bottom of the 4th inning the Frogs kept fighting and scored 4 runs to cut the lead to just 2 runs. In the top of the 5th inning the Emeralds were able to score their 11th and final run of the night as Onil Perez hit into a fielder’s choice that resulted in an error. Bryce Eldridge was able to score from 3rd base on the plate to give Eugene a 3-run lead after 5 innings.
The game quieted down for these 2 teams over the next couple of innings. Entering the 8th inning trailing by 3, Josh Hood hit his 11th home run of the season to score 2 runs and cut the lead to just 1 run entering the 9th inning. In the bottom of the 9th the leadoff man Bill Knight hit a towering fly ball to shallow right field and Bryce Eldridge wasn’t able to hang onto the baseball as it popped out of his glove. Knight was able to get into first base on the error. He ended up stealing 2nd but Cam Cotter was able to retire the next 2 batters. That brought Michael Arroyo to the plate with 2-outs and the game tying run just 90 feet from home. Arroyo already had a 3-run home run and an RBI-Single in the game, and he was able to lift a ball out to centerfield for a game tying base hit.
The game went to extra innings where Eugene was 3-3 entering today’s match. The Emeralds offense wasn’t able to get anything going in the top half of the inning. Cam Cotter came back out to pitch the 10th and try to send the game to the 11th but he wasn’t able to do so as Jared Sundstrom blasted a 2-run home run on the 2nd pitch of the inning to give Everett the walkoff win.
Eugene has suffered 3 walkoff defeats this season, with all 3 coming at the hands of the AquaSox. Eugene will look to even up the series at 2 games a piece tomorrow night with first pitch set for 7:05 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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