Eugene Edges Tri-City Twice To Take Twin-Bill

The Tri-City Dust Devils (28-34) fell twice in close games to the Eugene Emeralds (38-24) Wednesday night at PK Park, getting swept in a doubleheader by scores of 2-0 in game one and 3-2 in game two.

The Dust Devils had a chance in game two, leading 2-1 going into the bottom of the 7th inning following a Jose Guzman RBI single. The two-out hit, off the Emeralds’ Mat Olsen (4-0), scored Osmy Gregorio in the top of the frame.

A solo home run, though, by Eugene’s Carter Aldrete and and a Najee Gaskins RBI single off Emilker Guzman (2-4) gave the Emeralds a walk-off win.

Tri-City had tied game two an inning earlier in the 6th. Gabe Matthews launched his second homer in as many days at PK Park, a solo shot which tied the game at 1-1. Matthews now has 11 HRs, five of which have come in Eugene, and 39 RBIs on the season.

Gregorio also had a defensive highlight in left field, catching a fly ball and throwing a one-hop strike to Christian Molfetta to get Gaskins at the plate in the 5th inning for a 7-2 double play.

Zac Kristofak got the game two start, throwing two scoreless innings. In his four starts, the righty from Marietta, Georgia has pitched ten innings without giving up a run.

Game one saw Eugene beat Tri-City 2-0. The Dust Devils were held to only two hits in the game by the Emeralds’ Ryan Murphy (1-0), who went six innings. Landon Marceaux (2-4) also went six innings, giving up two runs on five hits in going the distance for Tri-City.

The Dust Devils and Emeralds go back to their usual schedule, with a single game scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Thursday night. Robinson Piña goes to the hill for Tri-City, his first trip back to Eugene since he struck out 14 Emeralds in six dominant innings on May 27. Jake Wong will get the start for Eugene.

The broadcast of the game, which you can listen to at dustdevilsbaseball.com and the MiLB First Pitch app, will begin with the King Beverage Budweiser Pregame Show at 6:20 p.m.

Tickets for Tri-City’s next home series, June 28-July 3 against the Hillsboro Hops, 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.