Emeralds demolish Tri-City in Game 1

The Eugene Emeralds defeated the Tri-City Dust Devils by a final score of 15-1. The Emeralds record is now 62-59 and 28-27 in the 2nd half.

The Emeralds put together one of their most impressive performances all season long. Last week the Emeralds scored the most runs they’ve scored in a game against the Hops after they shut them out 14-0. Now just 5 days later the Emeralds have set their new season high with 15 runs.

The Dust Devils struck first in tonight’s ballgame. Joe Stewart started off the game by reaching base and was able to get into third base. Cam Williams hit a sacrifice fly out to right field and Stewart scored on the play. It would be the last time the Dust Devils held the lead. The Emeralds scored two runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Luis Toribio and Zach Morgan were on 2nd and 3rd base, and Damon Dues ripped a single out to center field to score both runners on the play and give Eugene the 2-1 lead. The Emeralds added another run in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Aeverson Arteaga belted his 17th home run of the season which means he is now the team leader in home runs this season with Eugene.

In the bottom of the 4th inning the Emeralds kept the home runs going as Grant McCray hit his 13th home run of the season. It was a 2-run home run that scored Zach Morgan on the play. The Emeralds didn’t push any runs home in the 5th and the 6th inning, but they were able to really break the game open in the 7th and the 8th.

In the 7th inning the Emeralds added two more runs to their total. Andrew Kachel drove in a pair of runs after hitting a single up the middle. Grant McCray and Carter Howell were on base and both runners scored on the play. The Emeralds had the 7-1 lead heading into the 8th inning.

The Emeralds threw a scoreless top of the 8th. In the bottom of the 8th the Emeralds offense absolutely exploded at the plate. Damon Dues and Grant McCray were on base when Aeverson Arteaga crushed the ball out to center field. It one hopped over the fence for a ground rule double and both Dues and McCray scored on the play. It was Arteaga’s 28th double of the season. Tanner O’Tremba then hit a ground ball over to the Dust Devils shortstop who committed a throwing error and Arteaga scored on the play.

The inning didn’t stop there however. Kandrew Kachel drew a walk and put a pair of runners on for Luis Toribio. He hit a no-doubt shot out to right field for his 16th home run of the season and the Emeralds had completely blown the doors off of the game. That brought up Jared Dupere who followed it up with a solo home run to straight away center for his 10th home run of the season. The Emeralds threw a scoreless 9th inning and the Emeralds had taken the game by a final score of 15-1.

The Emeralds pitchers were also dominant in tonight’s game. Seth Corry pitched two innings and gave up 2 hits and 1 run while not walking anybody and striking out 3. Eric Silva pitched the 3rd inning and didn’t allow a single base runner and struck out 1 batter. Brett Standlee then came into the game in the 4th inning and went the distance. He pitched 6 great innings on the mound. He gave up 5 hits and no runs. He walked just 1 batter and struck out 8 Dust Devils hitters. The pitchers combined to allow just 7 hits, 1 walk, and they gave up just a single run in the 1st inning. It was a great performance from the Emeralds pitching crew in tonight’s win.

There are just 11 games left in the season, and the Emeralds are still in the race for a playoff spot. They’ll either be 4 or 5 games out of a playoff spot pending the result in the AquaSox’s game. For Eugene, all they can do is keep winning games to give themselves a chance to take care of business next week in Everett.

First pitch tomorrow is 6:35 P.M. It’ll be right-handed pitcher Trevor McDonald on the mound for Eugene. It’ll be McDonald’s 8th appearance this year as an Emerald, and he’ll look to continue to shut down opposing teams' offenses. So far this year he’s pitched 24 innings and his ERA sits at 0.38 this year.