Four innings into Tuesday night’s game, the Eugene Emeralds were losing 7-0 and didn’t have a baserunner.
They won 10-9.
In an absolutely wild back-and-forth matchup between the top two teams in the High-A West, the Emeralds prevailed, storming back from a 7-0 deficit to emerge victorious with a 10-9 win over the Everett AquaSox. They began the night three games behind the vaunted Frogs in the High-A West, and pulled out a gutsy victory to stun Everett and shorten the gap to two games.
The Emeralds welcomed Giants No. 13 prospect Jairo Pomares to the roster for his Emeralds debut. He batted fifth, one spot ahead of Giants No. 1 prospect Marco Luciano.
In a corresponding move, Heath Quinn was promoted to Double-A Richmond. The Giants’ 2016 third-round pick posted an .846 OPS in 35 games for Eugene. He was the ninth Emerald promoted to Double-A this season.
The energy levels at PK Park were high before the game, with the fans celebrating Elvis Night and welcoming the inspirational Drew Robinson into the park. Armani Smith was dancing in the dugout as “Hound Dog” played, with other players slapping hands and dancing around him. The Emeralds appeared to go into the game with swagger and confidence that they’re the better team.
That energy was deflated almost instantly. The first two Frogs batters singled against Aaron Phillips, who then allowed a three-run homer. The crowd fell silent. Three batters in, it was 3-0 Everett.
Phillips allowed another single before finally recording the first out of the game with a strikeout. But the next batter doubled in the fourth run of the inning, and the Emeralds found themselves in a 4-0 hole before they even got to bat.
Emeralds manager Dennis Pelfrey’s patience ran low with Phillips, whose rough first inning raised his ERA to 7.40. Travis Perry came in to start the second inning and pitched a perfect frame.
Pomares drew a 3-0 count in his first High-A at-bat but ended up striking out as Eugene failed to respond to Everett’s early four-spot.
Luciano made his first High-A error in the third, charging in nicely on a softly hit ball but overthrowing it into the dugout. The runner came around to score on a sacrifice fly, extending the Emeralds’ deficit to 5-0.
Perry got the first two outs in the fourth, but then surrendered a triple and a two-run homer. The batter who hit the homer happened to be Tuesday night’s Beer Batter, and as he entered the dugout, one of his Everett teammates yelled in a mocking tone, “That’s my Beer Batter!”
The Emeralds didn’t record a baserunner through the first four innings, looking lifeless against Mariners 2020 fifth-round pick Taylor Allard.
But the fifth inning was a completely different story. They led off with back-to-back singles, including Pomares’ first High-A hit. Luciano, Logan Wyatt and Ricardo Genoves then hit three consecutive doubles to drive in four runs before an out was recorded.
With two outs, Tyler Fitzgerald smashed a two-run homer. Just like that, it was a one-run game, knocking Allard out in a bizarre turn of events.
Suddenly, the offense had breathed life back into the crowd at PK Park.
Pomares put the cherry on top, recording his second hit of the inning with an RBI double that tied the game at 7-7.
The tie remained intact until the eighth, when Eugene reliever John Russell gave up a solo homer as the AquaSox temporarily regained their lead.
The Emeralds came storming back as Roby led off the bottom of the eighth with a triple. Pomares slapped his third hit of the night into left field, a single that tied it back up.
Luciano and Wyatt then drew back-to-back walks to load the bases with still nobody out. It then took just one pitch for Genoves to give the Emeralds the lead via a sacrifice fly. Eugene, which once trailed 7-0, now led 9-8.
Carter Aldrete added an insurance run with a single and the Emeralds headed to the ninth with a two-run lead.
The Frogs showed some fight, hitting a solo homer off Chris Wright with two outs in the ninth. But Wright settled down to record the final out of the topsy-turvy 10-9 victory. The crowd erupted into possibly the loudest cheer they’ve bellowed all season as Wright recorded the final swinging strike.
After quite an eventful first game, the Emeralds still have six more games to play against the AquaSox this week. They trail Everett by just two games in the standings now. They’ll pick things up again on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.
