Emeralds Drop Both Games Against Vancouver

The Eugene Emeralds dropped both games of the double-header against the Vancouver Canadians. They lost the first game 6-2 and they lost game two 4-2. The Emeralds record for the season is 58-55 and 24-23 in the 2nd half.

In the 1st game it was the Canadians who struck first. In the top of the first inning Devonte Brown hit a leadoff home run for his 14th of the season. The lead wouldn’t last long as the Emeralds responded quickly in the bottom of the first inning. Luis Torbio hit a single to left field that scored Carter Howell on the play. Jared Dupere tried to score but was thrown out at home. The ballgame was tied up at 1-1 after the first inning.

The Canadians added a couple more runs over the next few frames. Garrett Spain led off the 2nd inning with a home run for his 10th of the season. In the 3rd inning Jeffrey Wehler hit his first home run of the year to give the Canadians the 3-1 lead. Vancouver started off the ballgame with a leadoff home run in each of the first 3 innings. In the 4th inning the Canadians added a pair of runs. Devonte Brown hit a double that scored Wehler on the play. Dasan Brown followed it up with a single of his own to score Devonte Brown on the play and the Canadians had the 5-1 lead through 4 innings.

In the bottom of the 5th the Emeralds were able to chip away into the lead. Aeverson Arteaga hit a single to left field that scored Damon Dues. The Canadians responded back with a run of their own in the bottom of the 6th after a passed ball got behind Onil Perez and Devonte Brown came home to score on the play. It was the 6th and final run of the night for both ball clubs, as the Emeralds weren’t able to get the bats going in the bottom of the 6th and 7th inning.

Seth Lonsway was the starter and threw 3.2 innings while allowing 5 hits and 5 earned runs. He walked 3 batters and struck out 3. William Kempner came in for relief of Lonsway and threw 2.1 innings. He gave up 2 hits and allowed 1 run, however it wasn’t an earned run. He walked 1 batter and struck one batter. Thomas Gavello came in to pitch the 7th and threw a scoreless inning and allowed 1 hit. It wouldn’t be the only time we would see a position player pitch for the Emeralds tonight.

In the 2nd game the Vancouvers got the scoring started once again. With Ryan McCarty on base, Gabriel Martinez hit his 9th home run of the season to give the Canadians the early 2-0 lead. They added two more runs in the top of the 4th as Ryan McCarty hit his 2nd home run of the year to right field. Peyton Williams was the base runner during McCarty’s home run.

The Emeralds wouldn't go down quietly and they cut into the lead in the bottom of the 5th. Matt Higgins blasted his 3rd home run of the season to right field. The Emeralds added one more run in the inning after Thomas Gavello came home to score on a wild pitch. Eugene had some opportunities in the 6th and the 7th inning but they weren’t able to cash in and they fell by a final score of 4-2.

Nick Morreale got the start in the 2nd game and allowed 4 hits and 4 earned runs. Morreale isn’t someone who typically starts for the Emeralds as it was just his 2nd start of the season. He allowed just 1 walk and struck out 6 batters. Eric Silva pitched a scoreless 6th inning where he gave up 1 hit and struck out 2. Damon Dues, for the 2nd time in two weeks, came in to pitch an inning. He gave up 1 hit and didn’t walk a batter. In both games tonight we saw a position player on the mound for the Emeralds.

While it was a tough day for Eugene, they still have a chance to win the series. They took the first 3 games against the Canadians and the series finale is tomorrow night. A win would give the Emeralds the series win and it’d keep them right in the thick of the playoff race.

Daniel Blair will be on the mound for the series finale. First pitch is set for 4:05 P.M.