Tri-City Topped by Eugene in Series Finale

The Tri-City Dust Devils (1-2, 30-36) got within a couple in an attempt at a second straight comeback win, but the Eugene Emeralds (2-1, 40-26) added late insurance runs to grab a 9-4 win Sunday evening at PK Park.

The Dust Devils trailed from the 1st inning, with the Emeralds scoring five runs in their first three at-bats. The visitors got a run in the 2nd inning, with an RBI single by Edwin Yon scoring Mitch Nay to make it a 2-1 game at the time. Yon went 3-4, narrowly missing a home run in his only out.

Taking the baton from Dylan King (1-2), who returned to make his first appearance since May 21, Zac Kristofak slowed the Eugene offense in his three innings of work. The righty from Marietta, Georgia, gave up one run (unearned) and struck out four along the way. Kristofak has not given up an earned run in his last 16 innings of work, and only two unearned runs during that stretch (including today).

Down 5-1 in the 7th, Tri-City cut Eugene’s lead in half with two runs. Jose Guzman walked, and then came all the way around to score from first base on a throwing error stemming from a bunt by D’Shawn Knowles, making it 5-2. Jordyn Adams then drove Knowles in via an opposite-field single, bringing the Dust Devils within two runs at 5-3.

After the Emeralds scored in the 7th to extend the lead, Tri-City again cut their advantage down to two in the 8th inning, when Knowles drove in Yon with a single to right, but Eugene would score three runs in the bottom of the inning to get to the final 9-4 margin.

The Emeralds ended up taking five games out of seven in the series. Wil Jensen (4-3) bookended the series with wins, going 5.1 innings for the win Sunday.

In defeat the Dust Devils had offensive highlights, with Kyle Kasser going 3 for 5 with a double. Also, D’Shawn Knowles and Mitch Nay added two hits, and Gabe Matthews reached base twice, extending his on-base streak to 23 games.

Their trips to Eugene concluded in the 2022 regular season, the Dust Devils return home to open a six-game series with the Hillsboro Hops beginning at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday night at Gesa Stadium. The broadcast of the game, available at dustdevilsbaseball.com and the MiLB app, begins with the King Beverage Budweiser Pregame Show at 6:50 p.m.

Tickets for the game, a Coca-Cola Tuesday with 21 oz. Coca-Cola products available for $2, and all games are on sale now. Ticket packages are also available and start at just $99, and special ticket rates are available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on Dust Devils single game, season, mini-plan (11, 22, 33) and group tickets, visit dustdevilsbaseball.com or call 509-544-8789.