Tri-City Tripped Up by, in Eugene

A five-run 8^th inning rally and three multi-hit games from the Tri-City Dust Devils (0-7 2H) provided some offensive spark, but the Eugene Emeralds (4-3 2H) scored early and kept hitting the pay station for a 14-7 win Friday night at PK Park.

Tri-City struck at their first opportunity, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1^st inning on an RBI single by SS Chad Stevens. LF Joe Redfield, who singled to lead off the ballgame, came in from second to give the Dust Devils the early advantage.

The lead was unfortunately short for the visitors, with Eugene tying the game in the bottom of the 1^st and then grabbing their first lead in the bottom of the 2^nd on a home run by 3B Justin Wishkoski off of starter Chris Clark (1-8). That lead also lasted all of one half an inning, with Tri-City DH Juan Flores singling home 1B Matt Coutney to tie the game at 2-2 going to the bottom of the 3^rd.

There the Dust Devils’ arch nemesis of this week’s series, the five-run Eugene explosion, returned to again harass the visitors. C Onil Perez bounced a line drive on a hop over the left-center fence for a two-run double and LF Tanner O’Tremba sent a longball over the center field wall. In what seemed the blink of an eye, the Emeralds led 7-2.

Runs continued to come for the home side, with homers by 2B Quinn McDaniel and RF Matt Higgins helping stretch the lead to 12-2. On the flip side the Eugene bullpen held firm, led by two perfect innings from reliever Wilkelma Castillo (1-0).

With seven innings done Tri-City looked done. Looks can be deceiving, though, as the Dust Devils fought back to put up five runs of their own and make the 2,308 fans gathered at PK Park a touch nervous in the top of the 8^th. 3B Andy Blake drove in the first run on an RBI single up the middle that brought in 2B Will McGillis, making it a 12-3 game. CF Landon Wallace then came up and lined a ball down the right field line for a two-run triple that scored both Blake and C Kevin Bruggeman to draw the visitors closer at 12-5.

A sacrifice fly by LF Cam Williams, who entered after Joe Redfield had been ejected for taking issue with home plate umpire Spencer Kim in the 5^th, got Tri-City halfway there at 12-6. RF Jadiel Sanchez then swatted a solo shot over the wall in right for his fifth home run of the year, and third at PK Park. That sent it to the bottom of the 8^th, where the Emeralds added two more on a home run by 1B Matt Higgins to add breathing room and close out the final tally.

Landon Wallace (2-for-4, 3B 2 RBI) helped the cause with his first multi-hit for the Dust Devils. 2B Chad Stevens (2-5, RBI) and DH Juan Flores (2-4, 3B, HBP) joined him to key the attack for the team’s highest run total of the week, but it was not enough to prevent the visitors from falling short in their seventh straight contest.

Tri-City and Eugene square off in game five of their six-game set at 5:05 p.m. Saturday night at PK Park, with right-hander Ryan Costeiu (0-3, 2.36 ERA) taking the ball for the Dust Devils. Southpaw Jack Choate (1-2, 2.18 ERA) will counter for the Emeralds.

Broadcast coverage of Saturday’s game begins with the pregame show at 4:45 p.m. both here and on the MiLB app.

Tri-City returns home for an abbreviated three-game series with the Spokane Indians starting Monday, July 1 at Gesa Stadium. Tickets for the Spokane series are on sale now with special ticket rates available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on Dust Devils single game, season, mini-plan (11, 22, 33) and group tickets, visit the team’s official ticketing site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.