The Eugene Emeralds beat the Vancouver Canadians 6-5 on Wednesday night at Ron Tonkin Field. The offense was without Will Wilson in the starting lineup for the second straight game, but they fought a back-and-forth affair to win 6-5 in 10 innings. The victory puts Eugene up 2-0 in the six-game series. And with the Everett AquaSox losing, the Emeralds have first place all to themselves in the High-A West.
After the first three Emeralds of the day walked, Franklin Labour hit a single to put Eugene up 2-0 before Vancouver starter CJ Van Eyk could record an out. Labour has been heating up lately and has an OBP hovering around .400.
Emeralds right-hander Conner Nurse gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the first. He allowed a one-out double, and first baseman Logan Wyatt made an error en route to the Canadians cutting the Emeralds’ lead in half.
Nurse collected his first strikeout in the third inning as the game remained 2-1.
Simon Whiteman hit a leadoff double in the fifth, his third time reaching base. Wyatt, who’s been in a deep slump, came through to knock in Whiteman with an RBI single and extend the Emeralds’ lead to 3-1.
Eugene center fielder Javeyan Williams misplayed a ball in the sixth that led to a leadoff triple. The runner came in on a groundout to make it 3-2, but Nurse gave up another center field triple to the next batter. A double tied the game at three apiece, and Nurse was pulled from the game. He pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk while only striking out one.
Ryan Walker came in to record the final two outs of the sixth inning and keep the game tied.
The Emeralds responded in the top of the seventh. Williams drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and Patrick Bailey singled him home to put Eugene back on top, 4-3.
The lead was short-lived, as Walker gave up a double, a walk and a hit batter that loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame. He was pulled, and a groundout against R.J. Dabovich tied it back up at 4-4.
In the eighth, the Emeralds responded once again as Jacob Gonzalez blasted a solo shot to put them back in front, 5-4.
Whiteman reached base for the fourth time with a walk in the ninth. He stole second and Bailey was intentionally walked behind him, but the team couldn’t rally any further as they headed into the bottom of the ninth up a run.
John Russell got the bottom of the ninth for Eugene. The first batter singled, stole second and reached third on a throwing error by Bailey, and the next batter followed with a single of his own to tie it all up once again. It was the third time in the game that the Canadians tied it, bringing free baseball to Hillsboro.
Two walks loaded the bases with one out for Eugene in the 10th. Up came Wilson to pinch hit, having not played since he was hit by a batted ball on Sunday. Before he had a chance to do anything, a wild pitch allowed the go-ahead run to score, making it 6-5. Wilson struck out looking, and Williams struck out behind him as the Emeralds came away with just the one run.
Russell came back out for the bottom of the 10th and recorded the final three outs, securing the nail-biting 6-5 victory. It’s the third consecutive victory for the Emeralds, and with the AquaSox losing 6-2, gives them sole possession of first place in the High-A West.
The Emeralds (17-9) will play Game 3 of their six-game series against the Canadians (15-11) on Thursday at 7:05 p.m.
