Big Hit Eludes Emeralds In Salem Series Opener

After an early home run in the fourth inning, the Emeralds' offense sputtered down the stretch in a 3-2 loss at the hands of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in front of 2,169 at Volcanoes Stadium

The early innings set the tone for the remainder of the game, as both teams put multiple runners on base in the first two innings, failing to score amidst many chances off starting pitchers Chris Clarke of Eugene and Kervin Castro of the Volcanoes. The 4th inning would prove to be the only frame with runs coming across the board.
The Ems began the inning with a looping double down the left field line from designated hitter Nelson Maldonado. After a popout off the bat of Jake Slaughter, Grayson Byrd cracked the first pitch he received from Castro deep over the right field wall, to the left of the videoboard, for his first home run as an Emerald, giving the Ems a 2-0 lead.
That lead would quickly evaporate in the latter half of the frame, as the Volcanoes took advantage of a few mistakes from reliever Maikel Aguiar. With one out, Jeff Houghtby stroked an 0-2 pitch down the right field line for a double. After a groundout, Kwan Adkins was able to work a walk after an elongated 8-pitch at-bat. Tyler Fitzgerald then tomahawked a double down the right field line, plating both Houghtby and Adkins to tie the game.
Hunter Bishop was plunked by a 1-2 pitch following Fitzgerald's effort, putting runners on 1st and 3rd with 2 outs for Northwest League MVP frontrunner, Franklin Labour. During Labour's at-bat, Aguiar's pitch skipped past the catcher, Jonathan Soto, allowing Fitzgerald to come home and score the go-ahead run for a 3-2 lead. Labour would pop-out to first baseman Grayson Byrd to end the inning.
The best chance to tie the game in the remainder of the game for the Ems came in the 9th inning with the score remaining the same. Deiyerbert Bolivar entered from the bullpen to lock down the save, but Grayson Byrd would begin the frame by chopping a single to left. After Darius Hill popped out on a shallow blooper to shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald, who made a phenomenal sprinting grab to rob Hill of a bloop hit, Luis Vazquez worked a walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Bolivar would induce a flyout to left from Jonathan Soto to bring up Luis Diaz.
However, manager Lance Rymel would make the move for pinch hitter Caleb Knight off the bench, which prompted a counter-move from Salem-Keizer manager Mark Halberg. Halberg would bring right-hander Tyler Schimpf out of the bullpen, who was able to strikeout Caleb Knight to end the game, giving the Volcanoes the 3-2 victory.
Chris Clarke threw two innings of scoreless baseball to start the game for the Emeralds, scattering 4 base hits while striking out 4 hitters. Maikel Aguiar was charged with the loss after allowing 3 runs in his 2.1 innings of work, his first appearance after getting called up from the Arizona League. Tanner Dalton had another strong outing, shutting down the Volcanoes over 2.2 innings and not allowing a run. Blake Whitney fired a scoreless 8th inning to cap a strong performance from the Eugene pitching staff.
Kervin Castro continued his spectacular start to the 2019 season, keeping Ems' hitters off balance all evening with his tremendous pace and ability to attack the strike zone. Castro finished with 6 innings of work, allowing 2 runs and striking out 5. Trevor Horn threw a scoreless 7th and 8th innings before Bolivar and Schimpf finished the 9th inning.
Game Two will be Saturday night at Volcanoes Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35pm. Listen live on 95.3 The Score.
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