Joint Effort Earns C's Doubleheader Split

EUGENE, OR – A doubleheader split with the Eugene Emeralds [Giants] Saturday on Grateful Dead Night at PK Park helped keep the Canadians at .500 and gives them a chance to take three of six in the series finale tomorrow night.

Game 1 – Emeralds 3, Canadians 1

In the first game, both teams were held scoreless through their first three innings despite multiple chances for each to score. Eugene could not take advantage of a rare lack of command from C’s starter Ryan Jennings, who walked a career-high six hitters in three innings but managed to hold the Emeralds to one hit and no runs. The Ems left the bases loaded in the first and second before stranding two more in the third. Vancouver had two on with two out in the second and a pair of men aboard to start the third but were turned away both times.

The C’s finally broke through in the fourth. With two on and two out, Jaden Rudd legged out an infield single to score the game’s first run. Eugene countered with a run of their own in the bottom half when Tanner O’Tremba cracked the second pitch of the frame for a game-tying homer.

A bases loaded, one out situation in the top of the fifth proved fruitless for the Canadians and they came up empty again in the sixth despite putting runners on second and third with no outs. That left the door open for the Emeralds, who used a double, an error that scored the tiebreaking run and an RBI single to plate two in the last of the sixth to steal a win and hand the C’s a 3-1 loss.

Game 2 – Canadians 7, Emeralds 5

Offense came more easily for both sides in the second game. Vancouver drew first blood in the third after a lead-off walk, an error, a wild pitch that scored the first run for either team and a Ryan McCarty RBI single that made it 2-0. Jeff Wehler started the fourth with an infield hit, went to third on a Jackson Hornung base knock then scored when Jean Arnaez lifted a sacrifice fly to centre.

A four-run fifth – the third four-run stanza of the week for the Canadians – proved to be the difference. Rudd led off with a double and Dasan Brown promptly singled him home. McCarty added another base hit to his line then Nick Goodwin stepped up looking for just his second hit in 16 at-bats in the series. The Overland Park, KS native launched a homer the opposite way on the first pitch to score three and put the C’s up 7-0.

Vancouver starter Rafael Sanchez (W, 1-0) cruised through four scoreless innings and at one point retired ten consecutive batters, but the Ems struck for a run in the fifth to spoil the shutout then made things interesting with three runs on four hits in the sixth. Sanchez – who had been chasing his elusive first win in High-A since May of last year – was removed after 5.2 innings and wrapped up his outing with four runs on six hits, one walk and a season-high seven strikeouts.

Anders Tolhurst (S, 2) got the last out of the sixth and worked around a single and a double in the seventh that brought the tying run to the plate, but the right-hander struck out the final batter of the night to secure the win.

The series concludes tomorrow at 6:05 p.m. Vancouver sends Pat Gallagher to the hill while Eugene has tabbed Dylan Cumming as their starter. Catch the game live on Sportsnet’s alternate feed.

The Canadians are back at The Nat April 23-28 to take on Spokane [Rockies]. Tickets for those games and the rest of the season are available now at CanadiansBaseball.com.