Zagunis completes cycle after first homer

Mark Zagunis wished his first professional home run had happened a lot sooner.

But if the blast had occurred on an earlier date and not during short-season Boise's 11-6 win over Spokane, the Cubs prospect might have missed out on something even more special -- a cycle.

The third-round pick from last month's Draft entered the eighth inning needing a double to complete the 16th such feat in the Minor Leagues this season. He got under a pitch from reliever Darrell Hunter and sent it into right field, and while the hit didn't necessarily have two bases written all over it, Zagunis knew he had a chance.

"The skies were tough at night. I saw that the outfielder (Luke Tendler) and the second baseman (Seth Spivey) didn't really see it too well, so right out of the box, I was thinking two," he said. "I was fortunate enough to hit a flair into right field, and I sprinted out of the box and dove into second base, ahead of the tag."

His cycle marked the Northwest League's first of 2014 and Boise's first since Aug. 4, 1994, when Demond Smith notched one against Everett. Coincidentally, Zagunis was the second Cubs prospect to cycle Monday as Class A Advanced Daytona's Albert Almora pulled off the feat vs. Jupiter.

Earlier in the day, Grant Kay completed the cycle for Tampa Bay short-season affiliate Hudson Valley in his first professional game.

"I'm just excited to be a part of hitting for the cycle," Zagunis said. "It's my first time ever hitting for a cycle, and it could possibly be my only one. It's an incredible thing to do and it's very tough to do. It's definitely one of the best memories of my baseball career so far."

The 21-year-old ripped a two-run triple to center off right-hander Nick Gardewine in the first before singling to right to begin the third. Reliever Austin Pettibone entered to pitch the fourth, in which Zagunis deposited a pitch beyond the right-field wall for a two-run opposite-field homer.

"I wish it could have come a couple games earlier," he said. "I'm starting to get in my groove. I saw a couple pitches well today and put a couple good swings on them.

"It wasn't on my mind that much. I just go in there every day trying to put some good swings on the ball. But now that it's out of the way, it definitely is a good feeling."

Zagunis set career highs with four hits, four RBIs and three runs scored.

Following two games in the Arizona League, the Virginia Tech product debuted with Boise on June 29. Over 15 games, he has assembled a .356/.465/.508 slash line with two doubles, two triples, one home run and 12 RBIs. He has taken 10 walks and fanned 13 times while stealing five bases in six attempts. Behind the plate, the catcher has thrown out two of 13 runners on stolen-base attempts.

The cycle was easily the highlight of Zagunis' young career, and he knows it might be a while before he tops it.

"It was crazy," he said. "It was very exciting."

Justin Marra and Jason Vosler each delivered two RBIs for Boise, with the former hitting two doubles and the latter going yard as part of a three-hit evening. Spokane's Tendler and Zach Cone also went deep.

Hawks starter Tyler Ihrig (4-0) earned the win despite being charged with six runs over five innings. Pettibone (1-1) surrendered six runs in just the fourth inning for the loss.