Ems Crush Everett in Series Opener
NWL Eugene Emeralds

Ems Crush Everett in Series Opener

Published on April 15, 2026 under Northwest League (NWL)
Eugene Emeralds News Release


EUGENE, OR - The Ems defeated the Everett AquaSox by a final score of 7-1 in the series opener. Eugene now has an 8-2 record and a 2 game lead in the Northwest League Standings.

It was a scoreless first inning with both starting pitchers throwing just 10 pitches to get through the first frame. Charlie McDaniel threw a 1-2-3 2nd inning with a pair of strikeouts before the Emeralds offense exploded for 4 runs in the home half of the inning. Zander Darby led off the frame with a rocked single before swiping his 2nd base of the season. After Lisbel Diaz hit a groundout, Robert Hipwell got plunked by a pitch and stole 2nd to put runners at 2nd & 3rd.

Walker Martin was able to capitalize with runners in scoring position as he sent a 97 mph single to the outfield to bring home both runners and give the Ems the 2-0 advantage. Martin stole 2nd for the 3rd stolen base of the inning and Onil Perez followed it up with a 2-run home run to give the Ems the lopsided number in the 2nd. It was Onil's first home run of the season and he sent it 378 feet to left field with an exit velocity of 98 mph.

The scoring wouldn't stop there for the Ems as they put up a 3 spot in the 3rd inning. Gavin Kilen led off the inning with his Northwest League leading 7th extra-base hit of the year. Dakota Jordan singled before Darby just missed a home run for the 1st out in the frame. Lisbel Diaz was able to reach on an error after he hit a screamer to Luis Suisbel at 3rd. Robert Hipwell hit a single and drove home Kilen for his first RBI of the season. That loaded up the bases for Walker Martin once again. There was chaos on the field as he grounded to the first baseman Brandon Eike. Eike flipped it over to 2nd for the force out before Celesten airmailed the throw to 1st base. Jordan had already scored on the play but because of the error, Diaz was also able to come home to score to extend the lead to 7 for the Ems final run of the game.

The frogs were able to score their lone run of the night in the 8th inning. Curtis Washington Jr walked to start the 8th and a couple of batters later Celesten hit him home on a single to the outfield to break up the shutout.

The Emeralds pitched tremendous tonight as an entire staff as they allowed just 1 run on 4 hits. Charlie McDaniel got the start and threw 3 scoreless innings while allowing just 1 hit and struck out 4. Esmerlin Vinicio picked up the win and threw 2 innings while striking out 2. Ryan Slater followed it up with 2 1-hit innings and struck out 5 which ties his career high. Trey Dillard took over in the 8th and allowed the 1 earned run while striking out 2 in 1.2 innings and Gerelmi Maldonado took over in the 9th and recorded the final out.

It was a great bounce back win for Eugene tonight as they got back in the win column after dropping the series finale last week against the C's. They'll look to keep the offense rolling with first pitch tomorrow at 6:35 PM and Tyler Switalski getting the starting nod.

The Eugene Emeralds are the High-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants. The Eugene Emeralds are dedicated to providing the best in family entertainment and creating a fun, safe environment for everyone to enjoy watching a baseball game. For more information, please visit our website at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or call the Emeralds front office at 541-342-5367.

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Northwest League Stories from April 15, 2026


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