Dominate Pitching Help Ems Win

Eugene, OR - A pair of two run innings and dominate pitching propelled the Emeralds to their second straight victory, this one a 4-1 win over the Spokane Indians in front of 3,976 at PK Park.

Scoring started for the Emeralds (29-26, 8-9) in the first when with one out Jhonny Bethencourt doubled and Brandon Hughes singled on a bunt attempt. Bethencourt scored after reaching third and, realizing there was no one covering home plate, came around to score.
A pop-out to the shortstop gave the Ems a two-out opportunity they did not pass on. Ramsey Romano, last night's hero on a walk-off single, walked to bring up Miguel Amaya.
Amaya, who had been hitting .207 with runners in scoring position and two outs, singled to left field on an 0-2 count to score Hughes and gave the Ems a 2-0 lead.
They would add to it in the fourth after Rafael Narea led-off with a single and advanced to third on a poor pick-off attempt by Spokane (25-30, 8-9) starter Cole Ragans (3-2, 3.40 ERA). After a Zach Davis ground out, Chris Singleton reached on a throwing error.
A strikeout brought Hughes to the plate and he bashed a two-run double over the center fielder's head to make it a 4-0 game.
That was all Javier Assad (3-5, 3.86 ERA) would need as he cruised through five innings of work with just three hits and one walk against seven strikeouts. A couple of errors put runners on around him, but Assad worked through unscathed.
Spokane did their best to fight back, all five of their hits were doubles, but the Ems kept them off the board until the ninth when a wild pitch brought home the lone Spokane run.
Ben Hecht relieved Assad and went two innings on one hit ball and three strikeouts, while Luis Aquino worked the final two frames and gave up one hit and one unearned run with six strikeouts.
Game three of the five game set will be on Sunday with a 1:05pm first pitch and a hat giveaway to the first 1,000 fans. Tickets are available online at emeraldsbaseball.com or by calling the box office at 541-342-5367.