Emeralds Lose in Extra Innings Against Tri-City

The Eugene Emeralds dropped game 4 against the Tri-City Dust Devils by a final score of 4-3. It was a walk-off victory in the 10th inning, and the Dust Devils have now taken 3 of the first 4 games of the 6-game series.

The Dust Devils struck first in tonight’s ballgame. Joe Stewart singled with one out and was able to advance into 2nd. He then advanced to third base on an error and that brought up Arol Vera to the plate. Vera hit a sac-fly RBI to score Stewart and give the Dust Devils the 1-0 lead early.

In the 2nd inning Eugene wasted no time in putting up their first runs of the ballgame. Jared Dupere got hit by a pitch to put a runner on to start the inning. Carter Howell followed it up with a single of his own. Luis Toribio stepped into the box and tried laying down a sacrifice bunt attempt, but it was such a good bunt that Toribio was safe at first base to load up the bases. Zach Morgan, one of the newest Eugene Emeralds, ripped a shot out to left field and both Dupere and Howell came home to score on the play. The Emeralds stranded the next two runners but the damage had been done as they had the 2-1 lead.

The Emeralds added their third and final run of the ballgame in the 5th inning. After two quick outs, Sean Roby drew a walk. Jared Dupere followed it up by ripping a shot down the right field line. Roby was able to score from 1st base and Dupere was in with a stand-up triple to give Eugene the 3-1 lead. The next batter, Carter Howell, grounded out to end the inning. It was the third and final run of the ballgame for the Ems.

In the 6th and 7th inning the Dust Devils were able to push a run home to tie up the ballgame.

In the 6th inning, Adrian Placencia started off the inning by drawing a walk. He then proceeded to steal both 2nd and 3rd base. He came home to score two batters later when Arol Vera drove him in on a single for Vera’s 2nd RBI of the night. In the 7th, Matt Coutney doubled to start the inning and came home to score on an RBI from Steven Rivas. The game was tied up 3-3 heading into the 8th.

The drama ensued in a big way in the bottom of the 9th. The Dust Devils had a runner on 3rd with two outs. Myles Emmerson hit a ground ball up the middle and the crowd thought it was going to be enough but Damon Dues had a different idea. He made a backhanded stop and fired it to 1st in time for the final out of the inning. It was an incredible defensive play from Dues and it sent the game to extra-innings.

In the 10th inning Eugene went down 1-2-3 to send the game to the bottom of the 10th. D’Shawn Knowles started the inning off by hitting a popout and Myles Emmerson was able to tag up to 3rd base. The next batter, Adrian Placencia, skied a ball out to right field. Grant McCray got a running start to try and throw the runner out at home, but before he had a chance the ball popped out of his glove and Emmerson came home to score and give the Dust Devils the 4-3 win.

Nick Sinacola started the ballgame tonight for Eugene and threw a fantastic outing. He pitched 5 innings, allowed just 2 hits and 1 unearned run. He didn’t walk a single batter and struck out 8. Sinacola has been grooving on the bump in recent weeks, and he picked up right where he left off. Tanner Keist pitched 2 innings and allowed 2 runs. Brett Standlee pitched the final 2.1 innings and gave up 1 run. It was an unearned run but unfortunately for Standlee it gave him the loss.

The Emeralds will be back in action tomorrow night with the first pitch set for 7:05 P.M. Eugene will need to take the final 2 games of the series to leave with a series-split. Left-handed pitcher Seth Lonsway will be on the mound for the Emeralds.