Ems Leave Tying Run on Third in Narrow Loss
August 1, 2021 - Northwest League (NWL)
Eugene Emeralds News Release
EVERETT, WA - It was a rare one-run loss for the Eugene Emeralds (44-33) on Saturday as the Ems fell to the Everett AquaSox (50-26) by a final of 5-4 at Funko Field, just Eugene's sixth loss in twenty-one games decided by one run this season.
THE DETAILS:
* Winning Pitcher: Reid Morgan (1-0, 3.48 ERA): 6.0 IP | 5 H | 3 R | 3 ER | 0 BB | 9 K
* Losing Pitcher: Conner Nurse (1-7, 6.28 ERA): 5.2 IP| 4 H | 5 R | 5 ER | 3 BB | 6 K
* Save: Nolan Hoffman (1)
* HR(s): Eugene: Labour (10), Munguia (6) | Everett: Marlowe 2 (7, 8), Rosa (5)
HOW IT HAPPENED: Celebrating his 22nd birthday on Saturday, right-hander Conner Nurse toed the rubber for the Emeralds aiming to help guide the Ems to a series win over the Frogs.
The birthday boy looked dialed in from the get-go by striking out three of the first four batters he faced, but the AquaSox offense struck first in the third inning when Cade Marlowe lasered a line drive homer to center field, a two-run shot that put the Frogs up first, 2-0.
Everett's Joseph Rosa added to their lead an inning later when he led off the bottom of the fourth by belting the first pitch from Nurse over the right field fence for his fifth homer of the season and his second in as many games, but the Emeralds offense immediately responded in the top half of the sixth.
After Rosa's leadoff dinger, Eugene's Franklin Labour followed suit by lifting a 1-0 offering from Everett starting pitcher Reid Morgan up and over the right field fence, an opposite-field blast for his eleventh homer of the season and his third in as many games to put the Emeralds on the board.
Four batters later, after a Carter Aldrete infield single and with two outs on the Funko Field scoreboard, Ismael Munguia golfed the first pitch he saw over the right field fence, a towering moonshot that tied the game at 3-3 with what was his sixth homer of the season.
The AquaSox would retake the lead before the inning ended, though, as Cade Marlowe once again left the yard with a two-run homer, tallying his second homer of the day to put the Frogs back in front, 5-3, after five.
It stayed a 5-3 game into the ninth inning where the Emeralds began to mount a comeback, something they've been no stranger to doing this series.
Ricardo Genovés led off the inning by singling sharply the opposite way, and Genovés was then lifted for a pinch runner in the form of Emeralds right-handed reliever Tyler Schimpf who had just earned a save over the AquaSox twenty-four hours earlier.
Franklin Labour followed the Genovés single by working a walk on a full count, and Carter Aldrete then moved both Schimpf and Labour up ninety feet by grounding out to second.
Tyler Flores stepped up and followed Aldrete's lead by grounding out to second, but it was a productive groundout as Schimpf scored from third while Labour advanced to third to bring the Emeralds within one run, 5-4, with the tying run just ninety feet away.
Heath Quinn, who blasted the go-ahead homer in the ninth inning of Thursday's thrilling comeback win, then stepped up as a pinch hitter, but Quinn was left looking at the plate as AquaSox reliever Nolan Hoffman got a close called strike on the corner for the final strike and the final out of the ninth to earn Everett a 5-4 win.
PEAK PERFORMERS:
* Franklin Labour - RF: Labour homered for the third straight game on Saturday, finishing the day 2-for-3 with a HR, walk and run scored.
* Ismael Munguia - CF: Munguia ended the day with the only other multi-hit performance by an Emerald, going 2-for-4 with a two-run homer.
* The Bullpen: Left-hander Bryce Tucker and right-hander Jasier Herrera combined for 2.1 innings of work with five strikeouts while allowing just one hit and no walks.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Eugene Emeralds and Everett AquaSox face off in a rubber match on Sunday at 4:05pm PST at Funko Field in Everett, Washington.
You can catch all the action on Sunday with Alex Stimson on the call via 95.3FM The Score, MiLB.com or on the MiLB app.
With the Emeralds once again scoring six-or-more runs, fans can head to www.EmeraldsBaseball.com and use the promo code 'TIX4SIX' prior to first pitch on Saturday to receive 50% off box seat tickets to any Emeralds home game this season.
Tickets to Emeralds home games are available at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or by calling (541) 342-5367.
Northwest League Stories from August 1, 2021
- All Smiles as Hops Take Series against Tri-City - Hillsboro Hops
- Davis Dazzles in Spokane's 4-0 Shutout - Spokane Indians
- Ems Leave Tying Run on Third in Narrow Loss - Eugene Emeralds
- Hops Fall in Extras 8-7 - Hillsboro Hops
- Indians Blank Canadians Saturday Night - Vancouver Canadians
- Marlowe and 'Sox Bust Slump, 5-4 - Everett AquaSox
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