The Emeralds fell to the Spokane Indians by a final score of 8-4. The Emeralds record now sits at 49-46 on the season and 15-14 in the 2nd half.
Reggie Crawford got the start in tonight’s ballgame for Eugene. The talented two-way player has only pitched so far with Eugene, and he showed off why he’s such a highly touted prospect. In the 1st inning Crawford put a pair of runners on via walk and hit-by-pitch. After doing that with 1 out, Crawford was able to strike out the next 2 batters to get out of the jam. It was impressive stuff from Crawford who has been great at battling his way out of jams this season. Nick Sinacola came in for relief of Crawford.
Spokane struck first in the ballgame. Nic Kent was able to reach base and Ryan Ritter hit a double on a line drive out to left field and Kent was able to come home and score on the play. Ritter was able to advance to third base during the next at-bat before Ronaiker Palma hit a sac-fly out to center field that scored Ritter on the play to make the score 2-0 Spokane. In the 5th inning Spokane was able to extend their lead. Juan Guerrero got a base hit and a couple of batters later Jamari Baylor hit a home run out to right center field to extend the lead to 4-0. That brought up Ryan Ritter who had already driven in a run in the ballgame. He followed it up with a solo home run to make the lead 5-0 in favor of Spokane.
Eugene was able to push home their first pair of runs in the game in the 5th inning. Thomas Gavello hit a bloop single out to left field and the lineup flipped over to the top. Grant McCray hit a towering shot out to right center field for his 11th home run of the season. The Emeralds bats had been held to just 2 hits heading into that inning, so it was great to see the offense get things going at the plate.
In the 8th inning Spokane was able to add 3 more runs of insurance. Braiden Ward reached base to start the inning and that brought Benny Montgomery up to bat. William Kempner left a ball over the heart of the zone and Montgomery took advantage as he hit a no-doubt shot to straight away center field for his 7th home run of the season. A couple of batters later, Sterlin Thompson hit his 7th home run of the year to make the lead 8-2 Spokane.
In the home half of the 8th inning Eugene was able to chip into the lead. Aeverson Arteaga led the inning off with a base hit which was his first of the game. Sean Roby followed it up by blasting a 2-run home run out to right field for his 5th home run with the Emeralds. His home run cut the deficit to 8-4. Luis Toribio was able to draw a 1-out walk and advance all the way to 3rd base, but Eugene wasn’t able to cash in on the run.
The Emeralds weren’t able to get anything going in the 9th inning and they fell to the Spokane Indians by a final score of 8-4. The Emeralds came into tonight’s game on a 6-game winning streak and had won their previous 9 games against Spokane. Even with the loss tonight the Emeralds still guaranteed themselves a series victory after Friday night’s victory.
The Emeralds will look to close the series out tomorrow night with a win. Hayden Birdsong will be on the bump for Eugene. Birdsong pitched Tuesday night against Spokane and he’ll look to replicate what he was able to do on the mound. He went 5 innings and allowed just 3 base hits while striking out 3 batters and not allowing a single run. First pitch is slated for 4:05 P.M.
