After a nail-biting 5-4 loss on Tuesday, the Eugene Emeralds split a doubleheader with the Everett AquaSox on Wednesday. They won the first game in 2-0 fashion thanks to some stellar pitching, but then lost a more high-scoring second game 9-6, wasting some late scoring opportunities.
The Emeralds won the first game in a tight, low-scoring affair, taking down the AquaSox 2-0 to even the series at one game apiece.
Kai-Wei Teng started on the mound for Eugene and bounced back from a series of lackluster outings. He threw five scoreless innings for the Emeralds, allowing two hits and walking three while striking out five.
The only scoring came in the third, when Brett Auerbach and Tyler Fitzgerald hit back-to-back RBI doubles.
Chris Wright replaced Teng in the sixth inning. He walked a batter in each the sixth and seventh, but otherwise threw two hitless innings with a pair of strikeouts to shut the door on the 2-0 victory.
The Emeralds held the toughest offense in the High-A West to just two hits in seven innings, temporarily evening the seven-game series at 1-1 before diving into the second game of the doubleheader.
They kept the momentum going early in Game 2, as Carter Aldrete came through with a bases-loaded, two-out single that gave them an early 2-0 lead.
But the lead didn’t last long, as the Emeralds’ pitching finally cracked to allow their first runs of the night. Nick Avila gave up a run-scoring double and a three-run homer that put Everett on top 4-2 after the first inning.
The AquaSox then blew it open in the second, hitting a triple and two homers that extended their lead to 8-2.
But the Emeralds didn’t back down, rallying for four runs of their own in the fourth inning to shrink the deficit to 8-6. Robert Emery and Ismael Munguia hit RBI singles, while a wild pitch also helped the cause.
The Emeralds loaded the bases in the fifth, but Emery grounded into a double play to end the threat.
The AquaSox added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, as Emery threw one into left field attempting to catch a runner stealing third, allowing him to come around and score.
Franklin Labour singled with one out in the seventh, and Aldrete drew a walk to bring the potential tying run to the plate. Tyler Flores drew a full count, but grounded into a double play to end the game. The Emeralds had chances to score in the final two innings but grounded into inning-ending double plays both times.
Now down 2-1 in the series, the Emeralds still have four games against the AquaSox ahead of them this week. They’ll next play on Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
