By: Jacob Archer
Spokane, WA — The Ems took game 1 of a 7-game series against the Spokane Indians by a final score of 7-2. After the first pitch got delayed by almost an hour, the Ems bats were able to score 7 unanswered runs and snap a 5-game losing streak.
Spokane was able to jump out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Jack Blomgren got on base via walk and was able to steal 2nd base. A couple of batters later Kyle Karros drove Blomgren in for the run. In the bottom of the 3rd inning Jose Cordova led the inning off with a solo home run to extend their lead to 2-0 nothing. That solo home run ended up being not only Spokane’s final run of the game, but their final hit of the game as well.
The Ems were held scoreless in the first four innings, but Thomas Gavello led off the 5th inning with a solo home run. It’s his 2nd of the season, and he ended the night with a multi-hit performance. It was great to see Gavello get going at the plate. In the top of the 6th inning the Emeralds were able to tie up the game at 2-2. Diego Velasquez had a leadoff double to start the inning. He was able to steal 3rd base and Bryant Betancourt committed a throwing error to 3rd base and Velasquez came home to score to tie up the game.
It was a scoreless 7th inning for the 2 ball clubs. In the top of the 8th inning Zach Morgan drew a 2-out walk to put a pair of runners on for Tanner O’Tremba. Earlier in the game O’Tremba skied out to the left field wall and had just missed a home run by a few feet. He wasn’t going to allow that to happen again as he drove a no-doubt shot over the left field wall for his 3rd home run of the season and it gave the Ems the 5-2 lead. He hit the ball 403 feet with an exit velocity of 106 MPH. These two teams always seem to play close games at Avista stadium, and O’Tremba proved to be the hero tonight.
In the top of the 9th inning Onil Perez drew a bases loaded walk to score the first run of the 9th inning. Andrew Kachel followed it up with a sacrifice-fly RBI to give the Ems their 7th and final run of the night. Hunter Dula pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to close out the game.
The Ems pitching staff was great tonight, with Ems starter Jack Choate pitching 5 innings and allowing just 2 hits and 2 earned runs. Cody Tucker pitched the next 3 innings and didn’t give up a single hit while striking out 3 batters. He earned his first victory of the season in just his 3rd appearance as an Emerald. It was a great outing for him. Hunter Dula threw a quick and scoreless 9th to cap off a dominant pitching night.
The Ems moved to 2-games over .500 on the season. They’ll play a double-header tomorrow with first pitch set for 4:05 P.M.
The Eugene Emeralds are the High-A affiliate of Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants. The Eugene Emeralds are dedicated to providing the best in family entertainment and creating a fun, safe environment for everyone to enjoy watching a baseball game. For more information, please visit our website at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or call the Emeralds front office at 541-342-5367. • Emeraldsbaseball.com • Facebook.com/EugeneEmeraldsfanpage • Twitter.com/EugeneEmeralds
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