Three outs separated the Eugene Emeralds from a no-hitter in Sunday’s contest against the Everett AquaSox.
Three pitchers had maintained a no-hitter over eight innings and now, in the bottom of the ninth, Emeralds reliever Trey Masek was being called upon to close out the game and preserve the rare feat.
“Obviously, I’m aware of the no-hitter,” Masek said. “Everyone in the park is aware of it, but at the same time, you look at the scoreboard, we have a three-run lead. At the point, when I’m coming in the game, my job is to make sure it stays that way.”
Leading 3-0, Masek and the Emeralds faced the added pressure of pitching against Drew Jackson, Braden Bishop and Logan Taylor – the top of Everett’s order.
But the right-handed pitcher stayed calm under pressure.
Masek forced Jackson to ground out and quickly popped up Bishop to center on the first pitch. Then, on a 1-2 count, Masek struck out Taylor to seal the fifth no-hitter in team history.
“The no-hitter, it’s icing on the cake,” Masek said. “That was a really cool thing.”
Preston Morrison and Kyle Twomey each pitched three innings, and Luis Hernandez pitched two before Masek came on in the top of the ninth.
“Odds are, to have four guys being on the top of their game in one day, I don’t want to say it’s rare, but it’s tough to do,” Masek said.
Morrison started the game and pitched three perfect innings with four strikeouts. Twomey came on at the start of the fourth, striking out three of his own and walking one batter. The AquaSox made things interesting with Hernandez on the mound in the top of the eighth.
Hernandez walked two batters, and after runners advanced to second and third, faced pinch-hitter Corey Simpson. Hernandez threw three consecutive balls to Simpson, but was able to fight back in the count and force a line out to Blake Headley at third.
“Hernandez made a great pitch when he needed to down 3-0, with a base open,” Emeralds manager Gary Van Tol said.
The Emeralds got single runs from Kevonte Mitchell, Tyler Alamo and Eloy Jimenez in the third, fifth and eighth innings respectively.
Sunday also marked the final tribute night for the Emeralds previous home, Civic Stadium, which burned down on June 29.

The Emeralds wore colorful uniforms that included an image of their old ballpark and said “Civic Stadium” in white and green trim across the front. The team held an auction during the game for each player’s jersey. After the game, each player gave his jersey to the highest bidder. All proceeds from the auction will go towards rebuilding efforts at the Civic Stadium property, according to Emeralds general manager Allan Benavides.
“What a great way to pay tribute to Civic Stadium with the jerseys, the no-hitter, the auction and people donating some money to a great cause,” Van Tol said.
But even in their 40-plus years at Civic Stadium, the Emeralds never pulled off a no-hitter. The last one was pitched by Robert Snyder on June 23, 1968 – a year before the Emeralds moved to Civic.
Many Emeralds players and coaches were a part of their first no-hitter on Sunday.
“I’ve never been a part of a no-hitter,” catcher Ian Rice said. “I’ve watched them on TV, and there’s always one or two crazy plays that happen, but tonight was pretty smooth sailing from the get go.”
Rice, somewhat lost in the mix among four pitchers, was praised by Van Tol and teammates for his contribution.
“He called the entire game,” Masek said of Rice. “I didn’t change a call the entire time, I don’t know if Luis did. But, he called a hell of a game. I got to tip the cap to him.”
After losing the first three in the series and seven of eight against Everett this season, the Emeralds have now defeated the AquaSox on back-to-back days as they head into a three-game road series at Boise.
Momentum has been hard to sustain for the Emeralds at times this season, but two crucial wins, particularly Sunday’s no-hitter, could change their fortune as they hit the road for six games in six days.
“Like we talked about yesterday, we were just trying to salvage this series,” Van Tol said. “To get the last two games against Everett, who has a very good ball-club, it keeps us in the hunt. There’s still plenty of ball left, and we control our own destiny. That’s all you can ask for.”
Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner