Head shines on mound as Frogs rally to beat Emeralds 6-4
Published 9:00 pm Friday, August 10, 2001
Herald staff
EUGENE, Ore. – Two innings into the game, things looked bleak for the Everett AquaSox.
They were behind by four runs. Eugene had just chased their starting pitcher in the second for the second straight game. And their hitters were getting no where against Emeralds starter Justin Germano.
Enter Dan Head.
The AquaSox relief pitcher took over with one out in the second and threw 5 2/3 shutout innings. Meanwhile, the offense scored six unanswered runs as the Sox came from behind to beat Eugene 6-4 Friday at Civic Stadium.
Head (3-3) allowed just three hits and hit one batter. Two of the four Emeralds who reached base on Head were erased on double plays. Head picked a third off first base.
Jorge Sosa retired six of the seven batters he faced over the last two innings to record his third save.
The AquaSox broke a 4-all tie with an unearned run in the seventh inning. With one out, Jose Lopez struck out, but reached first safely when the catcher dropped the pitch and then threw past the base for an error. Lopez stole second, went to third on a single by Miguel Villilo and scored on a grounder by Greg Dobbs.
Everett added an insurance run in the eighth. Eduardo Figueroa drew a one-out walk, stole second and scored on a two-out single by Luis Oliveros.
Dobbs hit a two-run homer as the AquaSox scored three runs to tie the score in the sixth inning. An out after Dobbs’ homer, Tim Merritt doubled, went to third on a single by Orlando Hernandez and scored on a sacrifice fly by Figueroa.
Hernandez has hit in all nine games in which he has played for Everett.
The AquaSox closed a four-run gap to three in the fourth. Villilo and Dobbs began the inning with back-to-back singles to put runners at the corners and Villilo scored on a sacrifice fly by Emmanuel Santana.
Dobbs extended his hitting streak to 12 games with his single.
An error by the shortstop Lopez to start the second didn’t do starter Phil Cullen any good, but most of the damage he sustained was self-inflicted.
He walked three of the first seven batters he faced, including the second batter in the second, then surrendered three straight singles and a sacrifice fly good for three runs.
Eugene took advantage of Cullen’s inaccuracy to score a run without the benefit of a hit in the first inning. Marcus Nettles drew a leadoff walk, stole second, moved to third base on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.
