Martorano Mashes First Homer In Full Team Win

Was it the cleanest game? Absolutely not. Was it the prettiest win? Far from it. But Friday night finished with the Eugene Emeralds (18-10) still alone in first place in the High-A West after earning a 10-5 win over the Vancouver Canadians (16-12) on Friday night at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro, Oregon.

THE DETAILS:

• Winning Pitcher: Taylor Rashi (2-0, 5.91 ERA): 2.0 IP | 2 H | 3 R | 1 ER | 1 BB | 2 K
• Losing Pitcher: Nicholas Fraze (3-1, 2.05 ERA): 3.1 IP | 6 H | 4 R | 2 ER | 3 BB | 3 K
• Save: Chris Wright (1): 1.1 IP | 1 H | 1 BB | 2 K
• HR(s): Eugene: Brandon Martorano (1) | Vancouver: Sebastian Espino (2)

HOW IT HAPPENED: Eugene saw their win streak stopped at three the night prior in a 7-5 defeat at the hands of the C’s, setting up a chance for Vancouver (and the Everett AquaSox) to move back into a tie for first place with the Emeralds on Friday night.

Through the first two innings, things seemed to be carrying out according to plan for the Canadians who scored a run in the first and another in the second to take a 2-0 lead into the third.

That two-run margin held until the fourth when, after stranding runners in scoring position in each of the first three frames of the game, the Emeralds started snapping into gear when Brandon Martorano teed off for his first homer of the season, a solo shot to center that cut the Eugene deficit to one.

Javeyan Williams immediately followed in the ensuing at-bat with a single and then back-to-back stolen bases of second and third, respectively, and Simon Whiteman brought him home moments later with a single to center field that tied the game at 2-2.

The offensive onslaught wasn’t over, though, as Patrick Bailey skied a towering fly ball the opposite way to left field that caused Canadians left fielder Sebastian Espino to twist and turn trying to fight the stiff breeze blowing out to left before ultimately misplaying it and allowing it to fall to the Ron Tonkin Field turf, scoring Whiteman and putting the Ems in front, 3-2.

Bailey’s collegiate teammate, Will Wilson, brought him home one batter later with a sac fly to center, and after a chaotic inning that saw seven batters come to the plate, the Ems carried a 4-2 lead into the home half of the fourth.

It was a lead that the Ems would never surrender, but at times they did come close to doing so.

Eugene added two more runs in the fifth thanks to a sac fly from Franklin Labour and a Javeyan Williams RBI single that pushed the lead to 6-2, but the Canadians responded in the bottom of the sixth with three runs – only one of which was earned – to make it a one-run game after six innings.

That one-run margin held all the way until the ninth when the Emeralds sent nine batters to the plate and brought four of them home, starting with a sharp double down the left field line from Labour that plated Jacob Gonzalez and Logan Wyatt, both of whom had previously reached on five-pitch walks. Javeyan Williams then came through with his second RBI single of the night, this time scoring Labour, and Simon Whiteman followed with his fourth single of the night to once again score Williams and make it a five-run margin with three outs to go.

That proved more than enough for recent addition Chris Wright who worked around a leadoff single to strikeout two of the next three batters and close the door on a 10-5 win in what was an error-filled frenzy of a game (Note: Friday featured seven errors – three by Eugene, four by Vancouver).

With the win, the Emeralds remain in sole possession of first place in the High-A West despite Everett’s 13-2 walloping of Hillsboro on Friday night.

PEAK PERFORMERS:

• Brandon Martorano – C: The UNC Tar Heel continues to make the most of the playing time he’s been granted, belting a solo homer and going 2-for-5 at the plate. Following Friday night’s performance, Martorano is now batting .325 with a .449 on-base percentage and an OPS of 1.049 in 12 games played.
• Simon Whiteman – 2B: Penciled in at the top of the order once more, Whiteman delivered by going 4-for-6 with four singles, an RBI and a run scored. Whiteman is now T-7th in the High-A West in batting average (.286) and 3rd in on-base percentage (.432).
• Javeyan Williams – CF: Friday night may prove to be a breakout performance for the former Southern Jaguar who went 2-for-4 with two RBI, two runs, a walk and three stolen bases, including a sequence that saw him score from second on an infield single from Whiteman and emphatically slam his hand on home plate.
• Logan Wyatt – LF: Not only did Wyatt look comfortable during a rare start out in left field, but he also went 0-for-1… with four walks, scoring twice as well.
• Travis Perry – RHP: Making his first start of the season after six prior appearances out of the bullpen, Perry was solid over four innings of work while showcasing some impressive stuff at times, firing 4.0 innings with five hits, two runs, one earned run, one walk and two strikeouts.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Ems and Canadians face off again on Saturday at 7:05pm PST at Ron Tonkin Field in a top-tier pitching matchup that features a pair of Top 10 organizational prospects in fifth-ranked Giants prospect LHP Seth Corry and ninth-ranked Blue Jays prospect RHP Adam Kloffenstein. You can listen live to all the action on 95.3FM The Score, via MiLB.com or on the MiLB app.

Information regarding tickets to Emeralds home games is available at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or by calling (541) 342-5367.

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