EVERETT – Edilio Colina’s bloop single in the bottom of the 11th inning drove in the winning run as the Everett AquaSox defeated the Eugene Emeralds 3-2 Friday night in Northwest League baseball action.
Colina’s one-out dying quail found just the right spot down the right-field line, landing in between three Eugene fielders. Pinch-runner Jairo Hernandez hustled around from second and slid home just ahead of the throw to end the game.
The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for Everett (7-4), which forced extra innings by pushing the tying run home in the bottom of the eighth.
Gregory Halman blasted his second homer in as many nights and third of the season for the Sox, and Ryan Moorer earned the win with three scoreless innings of relief.
Eugene fell to 7-4. Dustin Gibbs took the loss in relief.
Everett starting pitcher Edward Paredes was his usual dominating self, with one glaring exception. Paredes walked five straight batters between the third and fourth innings. Four of those came to begin the fourth (after a Eugene runner was thrown out trying to steal to end the third). An error on a pickoff move then led to both Eugene runs.
Otherwise Paredes was the same pitcher who was nearly perfect in his first two starts. He didn’t surrender any other runs in his six innings, gave up just three hits and struck out four.
Eugene starter Matt Teague had a short night. The left-hander went just 31/3 innings, but was effective in that time, giving up just one run on three hits and striking out five.
For the second straight game Halman got things started. Just as in Thursday’s game at Tri-City, Halman was Everett’s second batter of the game, and in his first at bat he launched a solo homer to dead center, giving the Sox a 1-0 lead.
But Paredes, who has been nothing short of dominant this season – including five no-hit innings at triple-A Tacoma – completely lost command in the fourth. However, Paredes was helped out when Robbie Blauer grounded into a double play.
Everett managed to tie the game in the eighth thanks to an unusual sequence of events, but the Sox missed a golden opportunity to go ahead. First Jeff Dunbar hit a bad-hop single over third baseman Justin Baum’s head, then pinch-runner Marquise Liverpool was picked off, but a balk was called on the play. A sacrifice bunt and two walks later and the bases were loaded with one out. Matt Mangini then hit a bouncer toward first, with first baseman Blauer’s throw pulling catcher Luis Martinez off the plate, allowing Liverpool to score the tying run.
The Sox had two more chances with the bases loaded and the Nos. 4 and 5 hitters up. But Allen Harrington struck out Manelik Pimentel and Joe Dunigan to preserve the tie.
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