The Eugene Emeralds took game 5 by a final score of 5-4 over the Tri-City Dust Devils. The Emeralds record now sits at 41-39 overall and they have a 7-7 record to start the 2nd half. It was a back-and-forth ballgame but the Emeralds were able to rally late. They’ll have a chance to win the series tomorrow night.
The Dust Devils were able to strike first in tonight’s ballgame. Werner Blakely reached base and was able to come home and score on a wild pitch. It didn’t take long for Eugene to answer back, as Brett Auerbach hit a solo home run that he absolutely crushed out to left field. It was a no-doubt shot from Auerbach and it’s been great to see him get things going at the plate. The next batter, Grant McCray, stepped into the box and decided to join in on the home run fun as he blasted a solo shot over the wall to give Eugene the 2-1 lead. It was great to see them go back-to-back and in the blink of an eye the Emeralds held the lead after the first 3 innings of work.
The Dust Devils were able to even things up in the top of the 4th inning. Arol Vera reached base and Gustavo Campero was able to single up the middle to score Vera and tie the game up at 2-2. Eugene responded quickly in the home half of the 4th inning. Luis Toribio was at 3rd base and Max Wright ripped a shot into the outfield to score Toribio on the play and give Eugene the 3-2 lead through the first 4 innings.
In the top of the 5th the Dust Devils were able to tie the ballgame up. Arol Vera hit a single that scored Joe Stewart who had reached base via base hit to start the inning. In the top of the 6th inning the Dust Devils were able to reclaim the lead after Osmy Gregorio ripped a single up the middle to score Werner Blakely on the play and give Tri-City the 4-3 lead through 6 innings.
In the bottom of the 8th inning the game flipped on its head. Donovan Walton started the inning by singling up the middle as the game-tying run. The next two Emeralds batters went down swinging for a pair of quick outs. That brought up Aeverson Arteaga with two outs and a runner on. It was an 0-1 count and Arteaga connected with a ball and drove it out to left center field for a 2-run home run. It was Arteaga’s 9th home run of the year and it gave the Emeralds the 5-4 lead.
In the bottom of the 9th inning Hunter Dula was able to close things out. He did allow a base runner but was able to retire the last batter to end the game and give Eugene the lead. It was an impressive performance from Dula who earned the victory in tonight’s game. It was his 3rd win of the season. He allowed just 1 hit and struck out 2 over the two innings of work. His ERA now sits at 1.95 era.
It was a back-and-forth day game but the Emeralds were able to hang on for the win. Seth Lonsway got the start on the bump and went 4 innings and allowed a pair of runs. William Kempner pitched the 5th inning and gave up 1 run and struck out a batter in his inning of work. Sam Delaplane pitched the 6th and 7th inning before being pulled in the 8th inning with no outs. He allowed just 1 base hit but did allow a run. Delaplane was however able to strike out 4 batters over those two innings of work.
It was a fantastic come from behind win for Eugene as they have now guaranteed themselves that they’ll split this series if they drop tomorrow’s ballgame. If they win the series finale tomorrow night, that would give them the series win over the Dust Devils.
Tomorrow’s series finale is set for a 4:05 P.M first pitch. Hayden Birdsong will be getting the nod on the bump for Eugene after getting the start on Tuesday’s no-hitter. It’s a big ballgame for Eugene as they’ll look for the series win as well as moving above .500 to start the 2nd half.
