The Eugene Emeralds (10-18) took a 2-1 series lead against the Everett Aquasox (19-9) following a 5-0 win. Despite both teams going scoreless through the first five innings, the Emeralds managed to string together a dominant sixth inning as they went on to defeat the top ranked team in the Northwest League North in front of home filled crowd of 3,256.
The Emeralds can accredit much of their success this evening to starting pitcher Erik Schoenrock. Through six innings, Schoenrock recorded seven strikeouts in addition to giving up a lone hit and no runs. Schoenrock simply took full control of the game early on and left little room for error. On the other side it was pitcher Steven Ewing who recorded six strikeouts in five innings while giving up four hits and two earned runs.
“My last outing at Spokane wasn’t a great one and I wanted to bounce back,” Schoenrock said after the game. “Honestly with Renfroe being here it’s a little spark plug; everybody is excited to see him around, all of the guys around are picking their stuff up too and we’re starting to get rolling.”
After a successful debut in game two, RF Hunter Renfroe came out and continued his excellent play in game three. In addition to going 2-3 on the night, Renfroe improved his batting average to .571 to lead all batters. Aside from having only played two games, Renfroe has quickly proven his worth as a first round pick and continues to impress on a nightly basis.
In the bottom sixth, the Emeralds took full control of the game as they poured in the first runs of the game. The Emeralds began the inning with a lead-off Hunter Renfroe walk, which was immediately followed by a Fernando Perez hit a double to left field to put two runners on. Michael Miller then stepped up to the plate and recorded a one RBI single to right field to give the Emeralds their first lead of the game.
The Emeralds were far from done however as they tacked on four addition runs in the bottom sixth. After Wynton Bernard got hit by a pitch, the Emeralds had the bases loaded with two outs remaining. Following was a run down at home where Perez knocked down the Aquasox catcher to bring home the second Emerald run of the inning. The Emeralds ended the inning with an Anthony Torres two RBI double to right field and another Torres run coming off of a throwing error to third.
In the bottom eighth, the Emeralds brought home the final two runs of the game. With two runners on with one out remaining, Ronnie Richardson blasted a three run home run to left field to give the Emeralds a commanding 8-0 lead heading into the ninth inning. At this point the Emeralds had the game in the bag as they capped off a great performance on both sides of the ball.
“Whenever you can add two bats (Renfroe and Moreno) of that quality, it’s going to help any team,” said Manager Jim Gabella after the win. “In our case it’s kind of snowballing; you put some energy with those two bats (Renfroe and Moreno) in there and everybody kind of follows — that’s what’s happened in the past two games.”
On the horizon: The Emeralds will return to PK Park tomorrow night to face off against the Everett Aquasox in game four of the five game series. Game time is set for a usual 7:05 p.m. start.
For live tweeting during the game and news/recaps following the game, check back here with the Emerald.