The Eugene Emeralds won another game in late innings on Monday night, defeating the Vancouver Canadians 5-3 for their third consecutive victory. The Ems have won five of their first seven games to start the second half of the season, and the club’s win Monday night put them in sole possession of first place in the South Division of the Northwest League.
The second half has been completely different for the Ems, who struggled to succeed consistently, and finished third in the first half. They’ve come from behind and capitalized on their opponents’ miscues, stringing hits together and manufacturing runs when needed.
“The biggest thing is coming out and working hard like they’ve been doing and taking the things that we work on into the games, they’ve been doing that,” manager Jim Gabella said on Eugene’s second half turnaround.
The Ems scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead for good. Trailing 3-1, Wynton Bernard and Michael Bass recorded back-to-back singles with one out, setting the table for Hunter Renfroe, who doubled home Bernard and cut the lead to 3-2. Trae Santos was intentionally walked to load the bases and set up a double play possibility, which Vancouver nearly got. Fernando Perez hit a ground ball to first baseman L.B. Dantzler who threw home to get the force out. Catcher Michael Reeves sent the return throw into right field, allowing Renfroe to score, tying the game and prolonging the inning. Henry Charles would capitalize with a big knock — a two-run double to put the Ems up 5-3, the eventual final score.
“Teams that win games take advantage of mistakes and we did that today … In the end you’ve got to give our guys credit for not getting down and always fighting,” Gabella said. “It’s a lot of fun to win, a lot of fun.”
The Canadians scored all of their runs in the sixth inning off reliever Michael Kelly. A single by Dickie Thon and walks by Dantzler and Andy Fermin with no outs put Kelly in a tough spot. Justin Atkinson cleared the bases with a double to center, giving Vancouver a 3-1 lead. Kelly would retire the next three batters in order, stranding Atkinson at third.
Emeralds starter Bryan Verbitsky made his first appearance since suffering an injury that caused him to miss his last scheduled start. He tossed three scoreless innings, allowing one hit with one walk and one strikeout. He continues to keep hitters out of rhythm this season, lowering his ERA to 2.45. Kelly, Tyler Hale (1-0) and Adam Cimber worked as a unit to finish off the Canadians.
Tom Robson made his first start for Vancouver after being promoted from the Bluefield Blue Jays, Toronto’s rookie team. He worked through 5.2 innings, keeping Ems hitters at bay, allowing one unearned run on three hits.
Bernard, Charles and Michael Miller collected two hits apiece for Eugene, with Charles and Renfroe contributing two RBI each.
The five-game series will conclude Tuesday night at PK Park, with the Ems having already won three out of four.