PASCO – Two of the top teams in the Northwest League played an understandably tight and competitive ballgame on a windy Wednesday night in the Mid-Columbia, where the Eugene Emeralds (27-8) held off the Tri-City Dust Devils (18-17) for a 4-2 win that gave the visitors a two games to none lead in the six-game series.
Tri-City got off to a strong start, taking a 1-0 lead an inning in on an RBI single by 3B Jake Munroe. Leadoff man and LF Caleb Bartolero, who singled to get aboard and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by CF Gage Harrelson, scored on the hard grounder to left-center. Eugene answered right away, though, scoring three runs in the top of the 2nd off Dust Devils starter Houston Harding (0-1) to make it 3-1 for the Emeralds. A solo home run in the top of the 4th by LF Lisbel Diaz stretched the visitors’ lead to 4-1.
A leadoff double by 1B Matt Coutney in the bottom of the 4th inning both extended the Albertan’s on-base streak to 20 games and led to the home nine’s second run. After a groundout allowed Coutney to advance to third, Eugene starter Tyler Switalski (2-1) threw a wild pitch that bounced away from the home plate area and gave Coutney ample time to score.
The Tri-City bullpen held an imposing Emeralds offense in check for the final five innings, with relievers Max Gieg (2 IP, 5 Ks), Dylan Phillips (2 IP, 2 Ks) and Kyle Roche (1 IP, 1 K) keeping the Dust Devils within touch. The team would get the potential tying runs aboard in both the 8th and 9th innings but could not get them across, with Eugene reliever Niko Mazza going the final four innings for the save.
Caleb Bartolero (2-4, R) had Tri-City’s only multi-hit game of the night, continuing to excel in the leadoff spot. The Troy baseball alum has headed up the order in ten games this season, hitting .366 (15-41) with a home run, two RBI, three doubles and a triple in those contests.
GOOD NEWS: IT’S NATE SNEAD DAY
Tri-City will take on Eugene in game three of their six-game series at 6:30 p.m. Thursday night at Gesa Stadium. The reigning Northwest League Pitcher of the Week, right-hander Nate Snead (2-3, 3.86 ERA), will take the hill for the Dust Devils. Left-hander Luis De La Torre (0-3, 5.68 ERA) gets the start for the Emeralds.
Free broadcast coverage on the MiLB app and dustdevilsbaseball.com will begin at 6:10 p.m. with the Dust Devils Pregame Show. Fans can also watch the games for free on Bally Sports Live, and via subscription on MLB.tv and the MiLB app.
For tickets for the Eugene series, as well as all 2026 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.