After a two week hiatus from Eugene, the Emeralds are back for another homestand — this time against the Everett Aquasox.
The Emeralds posted runs galore behind Matt Higgins’ 1-3, three-RBI outing — including a two-run homer — and McDaniel’s 3-4, three-RBI day at the plate. This, coupled with excellent pitching all around created a perfect storm for the Ems.
Eugene controlled Tuesday’s game wire-to-wire and secured a resounding 11-2 victory to open the series.
Righty Trevor McDonald (1-0) garnered his first win of the season after 3.0 IP after letting up just three hits and fanning five in the process.
McDonald manned the bump on a rehab start from the AA rung of the ladder — the Richmond Flying Squirrels.
He struggled to keep runners off the basepath as he set himself up with RISP in each of the first two innings. Both times, he was able to strand them.
The second was slightly more worrisome. McDonald surrendered two singles with just one out, which left an Aquasox runner on third. However, astute defending from second baseman Quinn McDaniel — who immediately picked up a light chopper and gunned the runner at home — preserved the 0-0 deadlock.
The Aquasox left three runners stranded in the first two frames of the contest due to McDonald’s ability to demonstrate his class when needed.
That lack of clutch hitting came back to bite Everett quite quickly — the next half inning for that matter. Rodolfo Nolasco’s drive to left field drove in Andrew Kachel from second with two outs.
Nolasco was shortly gunned down at second on his way trying to string an RBI single into a double.
The Emeralds took a 1-0 lead at the top of the second that they wouldn’t give up.
Thus, the loss belonged to Everett’s starter, RHP Ryan Hawks after his 4.0 innings with three earned on four hits.
That lead would grow in just the next inning. Higgins stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the third with two outs and McDaniel on first.
Higgins looked at the first pitch in the dirt, but as soon as he saw the second offering from Hawks, he crushed it. He slapped one to the opposite field to extend the Ems’ lead to three.
Most of Eugene’s defensive innings followed similar scripts — one or two base runners, but they were easily figured out through his reliance on off-speed. When McDonald pitched his off-speed arsenal, specifically his changeup, it was either a whiff or soft contact.
The Emeralds’ pitching resilience came to fruition once again at the bottom of the fifth, as Everett righty Shaddon Peavyhouse walked his first two batters, and after a McDaniel single up the middle, both were driven home.
After the Emeralds loaded the bases, Justin Wishkoski drove a liner up the middle to score McDaniel.
Relieving righty Julio Rodriguez put in two innings of solid, scoreless work before being replaced by righty Cody Tucker.
Tucker felt the brunt of a lackluster Rodriguez inning after a deep double from Hunter Fitz-Gerald which drove in the first run for the Aquasox, but it was too little, too late.
Eugene continued adding onto its lead with an Onil Perez single driving in the seventh and eighth runs of the night. Tucker continued to struggle on the mound, which resulted in the second Everett run of the night.
Even being ahead in the bottom of the eighth couldn’t cool off Eugene’s hot bats as the Ems scored three more runs off four hits in that inning to cement what was already a massive victory.
Both teams kept fighting until the final out, which is a positive sign for what is looking like a battle of a series.
