EUGENE, Ore. – Robert Rohrbaugh struck out six batters, held the Eugene Emeralds to just two hits in seven innings and the Everett AquaSox provided lots of defense and just enough offense for a 1-0 Northwest League win Friday.
“They are a good team and maybe I’m just getting lucky,” Rohrbaugh said.
“I’ve been on the losing end of those type of games a couple times and I know how the guy on the other team feels. He did a great job too.”
Alex Gary produced all the offense the AquaSox would need in the fifth inning, when he hit a one-out home run over the left field wall. It was deja-vu all over again for Emerald starting pitcher and bad-luck loser Steve Delabar, who lost a 1-0 game to Everett Sunday on a Luis Valbuena one-out home run in the fifth inning.
“All you can do is your best,” Delabar said. “I go out there and give up a home run and the other guy throws up zeroes all night. There is nothing I can really do about that.”
Gary was 2-for-4 with a home run and double Friday.
“I threw him a slider the first pitch and then tried to come in with a fastball and he hit it well,” Delabar said.
Rohrbaugh, a seventh-round pick out of Clemson, faced 23 batters, just two over the minimum for seven innings of work. Only one Eugene batter even reached second base.
Rohrbaugh had six strikeouts and walked two. The only two hits he allowed were singles by Daryl Jones in the third inning and Mike Sansoe in the fourth.
“That felt good,” he said. “(Daniel) Santin caught a great game behind the plate and we attacked the hitters.”
Entering last week’s game against the Ems, Rohrbaugh was 2-1 with a 5.23 ERA. After throwing 13 scoreless innings against Eugene, he is now 4-1 with a 3.68 ERA.
“I’m doing pretty well now,” Rohrbaugh said. “I’ve got my confidence going and hopefully all the other pitchers can feed off that.”
The Ems threatened against Stephen Kahn in the ninth. Kahn walked pinch-hitter Will Venable to open the inning and then walked Sansoe to put runners on first and second with one out. Chase Headley followed with a fly out to left and then Kahn struck out Nick Hundley to earn his sixth save of the season.
Steve Mims of the Eugene Register Guard contributed to this report.
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