After Tuesday night’s 9-3 victory, the Emeralds had a chance to claim first place Wednesday night in Eugene against the Everett AquaSox. The AquaSox had different plans though, as they used four-run first and third innings to claim the 10-2 win and reclaim their 1.5-game lead over Eugene in the High-A West.
The game felt over just a few batters in.
Aaron Phillips got the start for the Emeralds and was in the stretch for almost the entirety of his evening. A Zach DeLoach bloop single and a pair of walks loaded the bases for Everett early, and they got on the board when Kaden Polcovich was hit by a pitch.
The next batter was Jack Larsen, and with the bases loaded, Larsen provided the first detrimental blow of the game with a three-run triple to center field.
With that, the AquaSox jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in a first inning that saw them bat around the order before the Emeralds could even step foot in the batter’s box.
Phillips retired the side in order in the second inning, but even all the outs were hit sharply. Through just two innings it was evident that the AquaSox had Phillips figured out.
Carter Bins led off the third with a double to left-center. The next two batters, Polcovich and Larsen, added a triple and double of their own to grow the lead to 6-0. Larsen finished the day 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and four RBIs.
Phillips walked the next batter to set up first and second for Everett. Connor Hoover and DeLoach each then singled to balloon the AquaSox’ lead to 8-0, causing Phillips to be pulled for Austin Reich.
Phillips finished the day with 2 1/3 innings pitched with four walks, eight hits, eight runs and 81 pitches in an outing that was quite forgettable.
On the offensive side, the Emeralds were held in check by Everett starter Matt Brash. The righty kept the Emeralds off balance all night with a fastball that ranged from 95-97 MPH backed up by offspeed that was topping at 83 MPH.
The Emeralds finally got on the board in the fourth with a Sean Roby solo blast to right-center field.
After exploding for eight runs in the first three innings, Reich kept the Everett offense in check out of the bullpen in his Emeralds debut. He went 2 2/3 innings in relief while striking out five and surrendering no hits.
Bryce Tucker entered in relief in the sixth, but Tucker wouldn’t fare as successfully as his predecessor Reich.
Patrick Frick greeted Tucker with a one-out double to the left field fence. A walk set up first and second for the AquaSox for Bins, who lined a two-run double to the left field wall. Bins was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple, but not before he gave the AquaSox a 10-1 lead.
In the bottom half of the inning with runners on first and second, Ricardo Genovés launched a ground rule double to right field to give the Emeralds a little more life, as they now trailed 10-2.
A walk to the next batter Franklin Labour marked the end of the day for Brash. He finished the outing with 5 2/3 innings pitched while giving up only two runs on five hits and striking out 11.
Igor Januario took over for Brash on the bump with the bases loaded, but he got Tyler Flores to pop out to center to shut the door on a possible rally for the Emeralds.
Januario, Kyle Hill and Dayeison Arias combined to shut out the Emeralds for the rest of the game while giving up no hits in the process.
With the 10-2 win, the AquaSox improved to 35-19, while the Emeralds fell to 34-21. The two teams will be back at it again Thursday night in Eugene with the first pitch slated for 7:05 p.m.
