Ems Mash Way To Opening Night Win

After 610 days, Emeralds baseball returned in a big way on Tuesday night as the Eugene Emeralds (1-0) handed the Spokane Indians (0-1) a 9-5 loss in front of 1,750 fans at Avista Stadium on MiLB’s Opening Night.

After spending the prior six years as a Short-Season Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs – and winning two Northwest League titles in that span – Tuesday night marked the beginning of a new era in more ways than one for the Emeralds who were playing in the organization’s first-ever game at the High-A level while also starting the first of what will be ten seasons as an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.

If Tuesday night was any indication, the next decade will be a lot of fun for Ems fans across the Willamette Valley.

Caleb Kilian got the start on the mound for the Ems and quickly showed some impressive pinpoint control right out of the gate by striking out five of the first six batters he faced to start the game, all looking.

In the third, the Emeralds opened the scoring when 2020 first round selection Patrick Bailey – playing in his first-ever professional game – belted his first pro home run, a towering solo shot to left to put the Ems in front, 1-0.

Back-to-back solo homers in the fourth inning quickly extended the Emeralds lead to 3-0 when Sean Roby and Diego Rincones led off the inning by each belting solo shots, with Roby homering to deep center field while Rincones laced a rocket to left-center field.

Eugene began to blow the game open in the fifth, starting with four consecutive singles to start the frame from Bailey, Hunter Bishop, Logan Wyatt, and Roby, respectively. Wyatt’s single scored Bailey to make it 4-0, and Tyler Fitzgerald later extended the lead to 7-0 with a three-run bomb to center field, the fourth homer by as many Emeralds.

Spokane would claw back with a run in the sixth and another in the seventh to cut Eugene’s lead to 7-2, but the seven-run margin was restored in the top of the eighth when Bailey continued his big day at the plate with a two-RBI single, scoring Carter Aldrete and Will Wilson.

Spokane struck back with two runs in the bottom half of the eighth and one more in the ninth, but it proved to be too little, too late as the Emeralds ultimately cruised to a 9-5 win on Opening Night.

Every Emerald in the lineup collected at least one hit on Tuesday night, headlined by 3-for-5 performances at the plate by Patrick Bailey and Diego Rincones while Roby and Franklin Labour each finished with two hits apiece.

Ems starting pitcher Caleb Kilian was exceptional on the mound, recording nine of his twelve putouts via the strikeout over four scoreless innings of work, surrendering only two hits and no walks in the process.

The win was the first of new Emeralds manager Dennis Pelfrey’s affiliated career after previously serving as the bench boss of the independent Florence Freedom (now the Florence Y’alls).

The Ems and Indians face off in the second game of a six-game series on Wednesday evening at Avista Stadium with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35pm PST. You can listen live to all the action on 95.3FM The Score, via MiLB.com or the MiLB app.

Information regarding tickets to Emeralds home games is available at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or by calling (541) 342-5367.

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