Riley Adams had both of Vancouver’s hits and only run batted in Friday afternoon.
The Vancouver Canadians found themselves in another 2-1 game against the Eugene Emeralds in as many days but they were on the wrong end of the scoreboard this time. The Em’s scored twice in the eighth inning to down the C’s at Nat Bailey Stadium Friday afternoon.
The C’s scored first in the first inning when Riley Adams drilled a two-out double to left off Enrique De Los Rios to plate Brock Lundquist who reached on a fielder’s choice. Vancouver had just two hits in the game and they both belonged to Adams.
Brock Lundquist scored Vancouver’s only run against Eugene Friday.
Their best chances to add to their lead came in the third on two-out walks by Lundquist and Adams in the third and a Reggie Pruitt leadoff walk in the fifth but Pruitt was doubled off at first from right field. Pruitt drew a two-out walk in the seventh and got to second on a balk but he would be left there.
Eugene finally broke through in the eighth against Justin Dillon when Rafael Narea singled to short, stole second and scored on a throwing error by shortstop Kevin Vicuna to tie the game. After reaching base on the error, Miguel Amaya tried to score on a Gustavo Polanco double to right field but Lundquist teamed up with second baseman Cullen Large and Adams for a 9-4-2 putout at the plate. However, Polanco made it to third on the play and he would score the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Joe Matarano.
Vancouver got a two-out base hit from Adams in the eighth but that was the last time the Canadians got anyone on base as they went down in order in the ninth. Pinch-hitter Kacy Clemens was the final out of the game when he grounded out to second for Mattingly Romanin. Michael Knighton received the save after Yapson Gomez struck out five over three scoreless frames to get the win.
Eugene looked like they were going to score first when Zach Davis and Narea drew walks to start the game against Vancouver starter Wilfri Aleton. He managed to get away unscathed when Lundquist started a 9-6-4 double play to get Narea at second after Polanco flied out.
Wilfri Aleton blanked the Eugene Emeralds over five innings on Friday.
Aleton got into a two-out jam in the second when Jose Gonzalez walked and advanced to third on a Tyler Payne single but the Dominican lefthander escaped with a ground ball out. A throwing error at third by Romanin in the third and an infield single to short in the fourth were resolved by Aleton, who actually picked off Jhonny Bethencourt at first on a 1-3-6 play to end inning number four. He also stranded a two-out single in the fifth to cap off his outing in which he scattered three hits and three walks while striking out two.
Donnie Sellers struck out four over two scoreless innings Friday.
Donnie Sellers took over in the sixth and had to find his way out of a tight spot with a two-out walk to Matarano and an infield single to short by Bethencourt that Vicuna could not handle. Sellers would strike out ring up Gonzalez for the third out and his second strikeout of the inning. In the seventh, Sellers took care of business with a groundout to third to give him a hold for his efforts. Orlando Pascual handled the ninth in 1-2-3 fashion with one out on the ground and two in the air.
Vancouver and Tri-City remain tied for first place in the North Division of the Northwest League at 10-6 after the Dust Devils lost at home to the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. Eugene also has a 10-6 mark to give them a one-game advantage in the South on the Boise Hawks and two on the Hillsboro Hops.
The C’s and Em’s continue this series Saturday night at 7:05 pm. The game can been seen on Shaw TV in Vancouver and heard on CanadiansBaseball.com and TSN 1040.
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