Thursday night’s matchup between the Eugene Emeralds and the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes was an offensive showdown, proving to be a challenging game for pitchers all around.
Ultimately, Eugene fell short and lost by a score of 5-4 to suffer its second straight loss and first series loss in almost two weeks.
Emeralds starting pitcher, Jesus Castillo, who now has a 3.27 ERA, lasted 3.1 innings and gave up six hits. Volcanoes starter, Garett Williams, was pulled after just 2.2 innings and gave up four hits. He now has a whopping 6.75 ERA.
Various relievers took over after the score had reached 4-2 in favor of Salem-Keizer in the middle of the third inning.
The outcome of the game ultimately came down to how many men were left on base; both teams left eight runners stranded.
In the eighth inning, while trailing 5-2, the Emeralds began a rally that revitalized their home crowd. The first batter up, Wladimir Galindo, smacked a home run into deep center field. Following Galindo was a single by designated hitter Jose Paniagua, and a walk by Kevonte Mitchell.
The momentum continued for the Emeralds when a wild pitch by Volcanoes reliever Kendry Melo allowed Paniagua and Mitchell to steal second and third. All of this occurred with no outs.
The next batter, second baseman Trent Giambrone, hit an RBI groundout to score Paniagua. The Volcanoes lead was cut to just 5-4, and PK Park was at its loudest point of the night.
However, in a two crucial at-bats with a man on third, the Emeralds could not deliver. Tyler Payne and D.J. wilson both popped the out for two consecutive outs, leaving the tying run on base. Wilson was visibly upset after he ended the inning.
Giambrone went 2-for-4 against the Volcanoes, while Paniagua went 1-for-4 and Mitchell went 1-for-3. Seven different Emeralds got hits on Thursday evening.
In their final attempt, in the bottom of the ninth, the Emeralds were three-up, three-down, and the score remained 5-4.
Eugene is now 1-2 in the second half of the season and will travel to Boise Friday for a three game series with the Boise Hawks.
 
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