Ems Win 1st Extra Inning Game of Season
Published on April 10, 2026 under Northwest League (NWL)
Eugene Emeralds News Release
VANCOUVER, BC - The Ems were able to hang on in extra innings against the Vancouver Canadians by a final score of 6-5 in their first extra innings contest this season. Eugene is now 3-1 on their road trip and will have a chance to win their 2nd straight series this weekend. The Ems are now 6-1 on the season and will head into the weekend in 1st place in the Northwest League.
The C's got the scoring started today with a run in the 1st inning. They sent 7 batters to the dish but didn't record a base hit as they drew 3 walks and 1 HBP. The lone run came off the bat of Jacob Sharp who was making his 2026 season debut. He hit a sac-fly RBI to center to give the Canadians the 1-0 lead.
Eugene will finally get on the board with a pair of runs in both the 3rd and the 4th inning to take the commanding 4-1 lead. Diego Cartaya led off the inning with a single and with 1-out, Gavin Kilen singled to drive home Cartaya to knot up the game at 1. The next batter, Carlos Gutierrez, sent a 106.3 mph screamer to the outfield to bring home Kilen and extend the Ems lead to 2-1.
In the 4th inning they added another pair of runs to grow their lead. Zander Darby started off the frame with a double and Robert Hipwell drew his 2nd walk in as many plate appearances to put the pressure on Vancouver early. Ty Hanchey singled and drove home a run and a few batters later Cohen hit into a groundout to bring home Hipwell and give the Ems a 4-1 advantage.
In the bottom of the 5th Carter Cunningham blasted his NWL league leading 3rd home run of the season and his 2nd of the week to cut the lead in half. The Ems were able to get that run back in the top of the 7th after Trevor Cohen reached on an E6 fielding error by the shortstop Maddox Latta. Cohen got into 2nd base on another error, this time by the 1st baseman Kendry Chirinos who couldn't reel in a pickoff attempt. Gavin Kilen doubled which put runners at 2nd and 3rd and Gutierrez picked up his 2nd RBI of the night with a groundout to 1st.
The Ems took the 3-run lead into the final 2 innings this afternoon but Vancouver wouldn't go away quietly. In the 8th inning after a 1-out single from Alexis Hernandez, Jacob Sharp doubled to bring home a run. He advanced into 3rd base on an error and Tucker Toman hit a groundout to make it a 1-run game.
In the bottom of the 9th and leading by 1, the Emeralds turned the keys over to Gerelmi Maldonado to try to close out the game. He ended up walking a pair of batters and with 1-out Cunningham struck again, this time a bloop single to shallow right field to tie up the game at 5. It was a great bounce back for Maldonado who settled in and got consecutive outs with the winning run just 90 feet from home.
That sent us to extras for the first time in the 2026 campaign. Kilen was the ghost runner placed at 2nd base and after he advanced into 3rd on the groundout, Walker Martin got his first hit of the day through the right side of the infield to give the Ems a 6-5 lead.
Esmerlin Vinicio took over in the 10th and the ghost runner Hernandez got into 3rd base after a leadoff groundout. Vinicio hit the next batter he faced but got Manuel Beltre to strikeout for the 2nd out of the frame. The tying run was at 3rd base with the winning run at 2nd for Kendry Chirinos but he rolled one over to 2nd and Zander Darby made a stellar defensive play to give Eugene the 6-5 win in extras.
Eugene continues to stay red-hot this year as they move to 6-1 on the season. It'll be 1:05 PM first pitches the rest of the weekend as the Ems try to clinch a series victory in Canada. Yunior Marte will make his 1st start of the year for Eugene tomorrow against Colby Holcombe for the C's.
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.
Northwest League Stories from April 10, 2026
- Shaw, AquaSox Offense Stellar in Blowout Win - Everett AquaSox
- Six-Run Sixth Inning Powers Hops Past Indians, 11-9 - Hillsboro Hops
- First Extra Innings Game of 2026 Ends in 6-5 Loss - Vancouver Canadians
- Ems Win 1st Extra Inning Game of Season - Eugene Emeralds
- Munroe Continues Hot Start, But Tri-City Falls in Everett - Tri-City Dust Devils
- AquaSox Weekend Preview - Everett AquaSox
- Canadians Erupt for 14 Runs in First Win of 2026 - Vancouver Canadians
- Yassel Soler's Historic Swing Walks off Indians - Hillsboro Hops
- C's Bats Get Hot & Hand Ems 1st Loss of Season - Eugene Emeralds
- Denner Dazzles, Stevenson Stars in Sox Win - Everett AquaSox
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