Emeralds claim NWL West crown

The Emeralds brought new meaning to the expression you win some, you lose some on Monday.

Class A Short-Season Eugene, which fell to Everett, 4-1, clinched the Northwest League West Division first-half crown on the strength of Vancouver's 10-6 loss.

The Padres affiliate clinched its first trip to the playoffs since 2000, when the Emeralds lost to the Yakima Bears in the Finals. Eugene got off to a hot start in 2011, breaking a league record by winning 14 straight to open the season 17-2.

Since then the Emeralds struggled, going 7-14 over the next 21 games to allow Vancouver to pull into a tie for first-place heading into play Monday. They received help from Salem-Keizer, which scored five times in the seventh inning en route to a 10-6 win over the Canadians.

Despite their recent slump, Eugene still managed to post the best record in the Northwest League, going 24-14 in the first half.

Part of the reason for the struggles could be traced to the loss of first-rounder Cory Spangenberg, who was promoted to the Midwest League on July 14. At the time he was batting .384 and he still leads the Northwest League with a 1.080 OPS. Offense has been a problem for the Emeralds, who have scored four runs over their last three games.

The Tri-City Dust Devils clinched the East Division on Sunday night.