Emeralds Strike First, Fall Late in Boise
July 16, 2019 - Northwest League (NWL1)
Eugene Emeralds News Release
For the first time in a little over the week, the Eugene Emeralds' (13-18) offense was stymied on what was a windy night in Boise, falling at the hands of the Hawks (15-16) by a 4-2 final in front of 2,544 at Memorial Stadium.
After a scoreless first inning, the Ems were able to strike first in the second off reliever Eris Filpo. Jake Slaughter beat out a grounder for an infield single with one out. With two outs, Luis Vazquez worked a walk, setting up Jonathan Soto. Soto smacked a single into left, scoring Slaughter and putting Eugene ahead, 1-0.
Frederis Parra worked just one inning as the Boise starter, making way for Filpo in the second. Filpo would finish his stint with 5.0 innings pitched, surrendering just one run on five hits.
Eugene's early lead would be short-lived, however, as the Hawks immediately answered in the bottom of the second. Michael Toglia led off the game with an opposite-field single off of Ems starter Zach Mort, before Bladimir Restituyo and Ezequiel Tovar nudged out back-to-back bunt singles to load the bases with one out. Mort would get a shallow flyout from Yorvis Torrealba before Trevor Boone slapped a fly ball deep enough to center to score Toglia from third, tying the game at one apiece.
Later in the inning, Bladimir Restituyo would steal third and subsequently score as Jonathan Soto's throwing attempt to nab the base stealer would sail down the left field line, putting the Hawks up, 2-1.
Things settled down through the middle innings as both Zach Mort and Eris Filpo worked quickly and efficiently on the mound through both orders.
The Ems would finally tie things up in the seventh off of reliever Stephen Jones. With Jonathan Soto at third with two outs after his leadoff double and a sacrifice bunt from Luis Diaz, Edmond Americaan looped a two-strike double down the left field line to bring him home, tying the game at 2-2.
Once again, that scoreline would not last long. In the bottom of the seventh, Zach Hall came up to bat with a runner on first and two outs, crushing a no-doubt shot over the right field wall off of Zach Mort, his second home run of the season, putting the Hawks ahead for good, 4-2.
Luke Chevalier and Jacob Wallace would shut the door in the eighth and ninth innings for the Hawks, despite the Ems putting the tying run on base in the ninth. Wallace picked up his league-leading fifth save of the season in the win.
Zach Mort worked a career-high 7.0 innings in the loss, attacking the strike zone early and often to finish a handful of quick innings. He needed only 74 pitches to complete his starting effort, though the two-run homer he surrendered to Hall would end up being the difference. Didier Vargas pitched a scoreless eighth inning in relief of Mort.
The rubber match of the three-game series will be tomorrow at Memorial Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15pm PST with Kohl Franklin scheduled to start for Eugene. As always, you can hear all of the action live on 95.3FM The Score.
Northwest League Stories from July 16, 2019
- Offense Held Quiet North of the Border - Tri-City Dust Devils
- July 15th: Volcanoes Lose First Place Spot in 4-3 Loss - Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- Emeralds Strike First, Fall Late in Boise - Eugene Emeralds
- Boise Hawks Homestand #5 Preview - Boise Hawks
- Indians Even Series with AquaSox - Everett AquaSox
- Hops Take Sole Possession of First Place - Hillsboro Hops
- Kloffenstein Earns First Pro Victory as C's Top Tri-City 6-2 - Vancouver Canadians
- One, Two Punch. Volcanoes Land Giants Top Two Drafted Players - Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- Hall's Two-Run Blast Sends Boise to 4-2 Win over Eugene - Boise Hawks
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