Eugene Emeralds beat rival Everett AquaSox to jump into tie for first place | Sports

For the first time this season, the Eugene Emeralds beat the Everett AquaSox in a series.

It also came at a perfect time as it tied for first place in the High-A West with the AquaSox, who were in for a rare slump. The Emeralds dropped from first place in early June, dropping up to 7.5 games, and now leading the High-A West for the first time since as they approach the final four weeks of the season.

They won four of the first five games in last week’s seven-game series against Everett. They narrowly lost the second game of the double header game on Saturday, missed the chance of first place all to themselves, but recovered on Sunday with a win and won the series 5-2.

Energetic and lively offensive

The Emeralds are just a fun baseball team to watch out for, with players constantly smiling, huddling and trying to take on the extra base. They never settle down, always looking for more. If they win they are determined to build their lead, and if they lose they are determined to make a comeback.

They currently boast some of the most exciting young talents in baseball, particularly Marco Luciano and Jairo Pomares.

Luciano, who is still a teenager, had his best streak so far last week as Emerald. He went 9-for-21 and has shown a little more composure and patience on the record in recent games after swinging wildly in some of his first games with Eugene.

There are still some adjustments to be made for Luciano – he’s skipped nine times on 23 record appearances and has an ugly 42.9% strikeout rate on the Emeralds. But his energy, determination and raw talent are beyond question – the soon-to-be-20-year-old just needs a little more time to adjust at the High A level.

Pomares, on the other hand, started his high-A career with a bang. He went 11-27 in his first seven games as Emerald with a homer and five RBIs. He also showed the ability to hit all squares. The only negative was that he did not draw walks.

Luciano and Pomares aren’t the only offensive talents to be seen in Eugene right now; Utility man Brett Auerbach is probably the most hectic of the team. He hit three homers against Everett, one of which was the kind in the park. He also stole three bases and switched between catcher and second base in the field.

Emeralds’ pitching kept Everett hitters at bay

In addition to the offensive playing with an extra boost of energy, the Emeralds’ pitchers tamed a tough Everett offensive. They kept AquaSox batter on an average of 0.220 while striking 84 and only walking 17 in 60 innings. This total number of hikes is especially important as the emeralds have been plagued by free tickets at times this year.

Kai-Wei Teng was dominant in August and continued last week with a seven innings run and 11 strikeouts run. A force since joining the Emeralds, Ryan Murphy has delivered another strong performance that takes him to the top of all lower division pitchers in strikeouts.

Soaring up from this huge streak win, the Emeralds will take to the streets again to defeat the final spot of the Tri-City Dust Devils. In fact, the Emeralds will be playing on the streets for three of the last four weeks of the season.

The AquaSox, meanwhile, will return to Everett to take on the Spokane Indians, who have won nine in a row. It will take four weeks to watch the scoreboard to see which team will ultimately emerge victorious with the High-A West crown.

The first pitch for Game 1 of Eugene’s series against Tri-City is scheduled for Tuesday at 19:05