The Eugene Emeralds just keep winning.
They won their fourth straight game of the season on Friday, beating the Spokane Indians 8-4 at Avista Stadium. Logan Wyatt got on base four times, while Will Wilson homered and Ismael Munguia continued his hot start with three hits. Travis Perry pitched 3 2/3 hitless innings out of the bullpen as the Emeralds clinched the series win.
First-rounder Hunter Bishop was a late scratch before the game for undisclosed reasons, while fellow first-rounder Patrick Bailey got a scheduled day off. The Emeralds still won despite two key pieces sitting out.
Tyler Fitzgerald and Munguia led off the game with singles, and Wilson walked to load the bases. Wyatt drew his seventh walk of the season to bring in a run as the Emeralds scored before an out was even recorded. However, two strikeouts and a groundout left the bases loaded with just the one run on the board.
Nick Morreale made his Emeralds debut on the mound, his first time pitching above Rookie ball. He allowed a leadoff single in the first, and the runner stole second, stole third and scored on a balk to tie the game.
Spokane pitcher Ryan Feltner settled in after the first five batters reached against him. He struck out six through three innings as the game remained tied, 1-1.
The Emeralds attempted a two-out rally in the fourth, as singles from Simon Whiteman and Javeyan Williams and a walk from Fitzgerald loaded the bases. Munguia flew out in foul territory to end the threat.
A single, a walk and another single brought in a run to give Spokane a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Morreale was subsequently pulled for Perry, who walked his first hitter and allowed a groundout that made it 3-1.
Will Wilson led off the fifth with his first homer of the season to cut the lead in half. Wyatt and Brandon Martorano walked but the Emeralds stranded two as they trailed 3-2 after four and a half.
The Emeralds sparked another two-out rally in the sixth. Munguia, Wilson and Wyatt hit three consecutive singles to tie the game at three apiece. After the hit, Wyatt had his average and OPS up to a staggering .636 and 1.426, respectively.
They kept it going in the seventh. Martorano led off with a double and Jacob Gonzalez recorded his first hit of the season with a single that put the Emeralds up 4-3. Whiteman reached on an error to put runners on the corners, and Fitzgerald brought in another run with a sacrifice fly.
Perry kept the Indians at bay. He pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing no hits.
With Wilson on first base in the eighth, an errant pickoff throw allowed him to score from first and extend the lead to 6-3.
Fitzgerald hit an RBI single in the ninth as the Emeralds scored for the fifth consecutive inning. Munguia brought him in with his third single of the game to make it 8-3. Munguia is now hitting .500 with an 1.181 OPS.
R.J. Dabovich allowed a solo homer in the ninth but struck out the side and secured the 8-4 win. The Emeralds won their fourth straight game to start the season and clinched the six-game series victory.
They’ll go for their fifth straight win on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
