Walks have haunted the otherwise talented Seth Corry, and Friday night’s game at Funko Field was emblematic of the season he’s having.

He struck out five in 4 2/3 innings and allowed just one earned run, but also walked four and threw nearly 100 pitches. Everything seemed to be going Everett’s way on Friday — as it has all series — but Sean Roby played hero with a towering three-run homer in the seventh, leading the Eugene Emeralds to snap their four-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the AquaSox.

They now sit a half-game behind the AquaSox for first place in the High-A West, and trail the six-game series 3-1.

The Emeralds drew three two-out walks in the top of the first, but left the bases loaded to kick things off.

Corry’s severe control issues persisted in the bottom of the frame, as he walked the first batter he faced for his minor league-most 27th of the season. Corry hit the next batter, but second baseman Tyler Fitzgerald made a nice play on a full-count grounder to help him navigate through a scoreless first.

After making a defensive impact, Fitzgerald led off the second with a double. Brandon Martorano, getting his second straight start at catcher with first-rounder Patrick Bailey slotted at first, drove in Fitzgerald with a single to put the Emeralds up 1-0.

Corry struck out two in a rare walk-free second inning. He walked a batter in the third, and hit a batter to start the fourth. With the runner on third and two outs, Corry’s control issues transferred to the field, as he made a throwing error that allowed the tying run to score without a single hit on the board for the AquaSox. 

The no-hitter was short-lived as the next batter singled. Corry’s third walk of the night loaded the bases, and at the time he had thrown only 34 of his 71 pitches for strikes. He narrowly escaped the jam, recording his fifth strikeout on a full count to keep the game tied.

Corry hit his third batter of the day with two outs in the fifth. He then issued yet another walk, prompting manager Dennis Pelfrey to pull him from the game. His four walks in 4 2/3 innings actually lowered his season walk rate. Bryce Tucker came out of the bullpen and allowed one of Corry’s inherited runners to score as Everett took a 2-1 lead.

After the Emeralds issued two more walks in the sixth, Martorano threw a ball into right field that allowed another run to score, making it 3-1.

The first two Emeralds were retired in the seventh as the team seemed lifeless and the game trudged by at a snail’s pace. But after a walk and a hit by pitch, Sean Roby blasted a three-run homer that cleared the netting in left field to flip the script and send Eugene out to a 4-3 lead.

Chris Wright and R.J. Dabovich combined for nine strikeouts in the final 3 2/3 innings. The Emeralds squeaked out the 4-3 victory, mercifully ending their four-game skid and avoiding (for now) their first series loss of the season.

The Emeralds (20-14) will look to avoid the series loss once again in Game 4 on Saturday at 7:05 p.m.