Eugene Completes Sweep Of Salem-Keizer, Stays Tied For First

The Eugene Emeralds (13-9, 29-31) busted out the brooms against the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (9-13, 35-25) on Friday, completing a sweep of the three-game series behind a 9-2 victory at PK Park.

The Ems entered the night stuck in a deadlock with the Hillsboro Hops atop the Northwest League's South Division with only seventeen regular season games to go, and Eugene made the most of the opportunity presented on Friday, scoring runs in each of the game's first four innings.
Emeralds catcher Caleb Knight got the scoring started in the first inning, blooping a single off the bat handle into right field to score Pedro Martinez and Edmond Americaan, giving the Ems a 2-0 lead right out of the gate.
Eugene added three more runs in the second inning, the first of which came off a Josue Huma double to the right field corner that scored Luis Vazquez, who had earlier reached on a fielding error. In the ensuing at-bat, a Fernando Kelli groundout scored Jacob Olson from third, and a perfectly placed bunt single from Edmond Americaan scored Josue Huma two batters latter to give the Ems a 5-0 lead after just two innings.
In the third, the scoring barrage continued when Josue Huma once again came through with a run-scoring base knock, this time plating Alexander Guerra and Jacob Olson with a single to right field that put the Ems up by seven after three, and they made it 8-0 after four when a Grayson Byrd groundout scored Edmond Americaan from third after he had led off the fourth inning with a triple.
Salem-Keizer's offense wasn't heard from until the seventh inning when they snapped the shutout and scored a pair of runs, the first coming on a Hunter Bishop solo home run and the second coming on a Jeff Houghtby RBI single, but Eugene responded with a run of their own in the bottom half when Fernando Kelli grounded into a fielder's choice that scored Luis Vazquez from third to make it 9-2.
Emeralds reliever Brandon Hughes pitched a hitless eighth and ninth innings, striking out four batters in the process to cap a 9-2 win and a sweep of the Volcanoes.
Top to bottom, nearly everyone in the Ems lineup got in on the action Friday night, highlighted by three-hit nights from Edmond Americaan, Caleb Knight and Josue Huma.
On the mound, starting pitcher Josh Burgmann tossed a career-high 3.0 innings with five strikeouts while allowing just one hit, no runs, and no walks.
The Emeralds now hit the road for a three-game series against the Spokane Indians starting on Saturday night at Avista Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm PST and you can listen live with Pat Zajac bringing you all the action on 95.3FM The Score.
The Emeralds return home on Tuesday to open up a three-game series against the Hillsboro Hops.
You can find the full promotional schedule for the 2019 Eugene Emeralds season by visiting www.EmeraldsBaseball.com.
Tickets to Emeralds home games are on sale now at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or by calling (541) 342-5367.
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