Emeralds Drop Game 3 Against the Vancouver Canadians
June 22, 2023 - Northwest League (NWL)
Eugene Emeralds News Release
The Eugene Emeralds lost by a final score of 13-2 against the Vancouver Canadians. The Emeralds have finished the NWL 1st half with a record of 34-32.
The Canadians struck early tonight in the 1st inning. After a couple of runners reached base via base hit and a walk, Alex De Jesus got the scoring started by hitting a homerun out to left center field. The Canadians had jumped out to the early 3-0 lead after in the top of the 1st inning against the Emeralds.
The Emeralds were rocking the Exploding Whales jersey tonight. They answered back with an explosive 2-run home run in the bottom of the 1st. Brett Auerbach reached base in his first plate appearance and the cleanup hitter Victor Bericoto was able to connect with a baseball and drive it out to right center field for the 2-run home run. Bericoto was the Northwest League Player of the week last week and has picked up right where he left off. He has now hit 7 home runs in the month of June.
The Emeralds had scored the game tying run in the 3rd inning but Edison Mora got called out for runner's interference. He skied a fly ball to the 1st baseman who wasn't able to hang onto the ball and had to move into the base path to try and catch the ball. Mora and him made contact and the run was waved off. Emerald's manager Carlos Valderrama was not happy with the call and was arguing with the home plate umpire. It resulted in the Ems skipper being tossed from the game.
Things would turn quickly for Eugene after the Canadians piled up runs. Andres Sosa drove in some runs in the top of the 4th. The next two batters were able to reach base and Alex De Jesus stepped into the box with the bases loaded. He was able to hit his 2nd home run of the game to give the Canadians 10-2 lead in the 4th inning.
Vancouver would add on another run on an RBI-Single from Andres Sosa in the 5th inning. The game would speed through the 6th, 7th and 8th inning with neither team scoring a run. In the top of the 9th Vancouver added on two more runs after Josh Kasevich singled to drive in a pair of runs. Vancouver held onto the 13-2 lead and the game went final after the Emeralds went down in order in the bottom of the 9th.
Hayden Birdsong got the start on the bump for Eugene and it was a tougher outing for him. It was just his 2nd start after joining the squad last week. He went 3 innings and allowed 8 runs. A bright spot for him was he struck out 3 batters over those 3 innings. Matt Mikulski and Nick Morreale combined to pitch 3 innings and held Vancouver scoreless. They allowed just 3 hits and struck out 3.
The Emeralds finished the first half with a record of 34-32. They finished tied for 2nd place with the Everett Aquasox and the Tri-City Dust Devils who had the same record as the Emeralds. The 2nd half starts tomorrow as the Emeralds will be taking on the Canadians once again. First pitch is set for 6:35 P.M.
Northwest League Stories from June 22, 2023
- Emeralds Drop Game 3 Against the Vancouver Canadians - Eugene Emeralds
- Frogs Hold off Surging Hops in Ninth, Win 8-7 - Everett AquaSox
- Weird, Wild Game Breaks Against Tri-City, for Spokane - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Pena's Two-Homer Night Spoiled in Hops' Loss - Hillsboro Hops
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