Eugene Wins Marathon Finale To Take Series In Spokane

The Eugene Emeralds (38-27) departed Eastern Washington with a series win, but it did not come easily nor quickly as the Ems downed the Spokane Indians (30-36) by a final of 11-9 in ten innings on Sunday at Avista Stadium in a game that lasted four hours and forty-two minutes.

THE DETAILS:

• Winning Pitcher: Taylor Rashi (4-2, 5.04 ERA): 2.2 IP | 0 H | 0 R | 1 BB | 4 K
• Losing Pitcher: Dugan Darnell (1-3, 1.93 ERA): 1.0 IP | 1 H | 2 R | 1 ER | 1 BB | 2 K
• Save: N/A
• HR(s): Eugene: Aldrete (5) | Spokane: N/A

HOW IT HAPPENED: Eugene has been no stranger to putting up crooked numbers during this past week in Spokane, and that trend continued right from the start of Sunday’s finale.

Eugene plated five runs in the game’s first frame, the first four scoring on three consecutive bases loaded walks and the final two coming on a two-RBI single by Nolan Dempsey that put Eugene comfortably in front first, 5-0.

Spokane got a run back in the bottom half of the first after leadoff man Jack Blomgren worked a walk, stole second and then came in to score on a throwing error by Dempsey at short, and two innings later they trimmed Eugene’s lead to two back-to-back RBI groundouts that together made it a 5-3 game after three.

The Emeralds restored their five-run advantage in the following inning thanks to another big blast from Carter Aldrete, a three-run homer the opposite way for his second homer of the series and his fourth over the last two series combine, all of which have gone the opposite way.

Yet again, though, Spokane went right back to work aiming to chip into Eugene’s 8-3 lead. The Indians plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a Hunter Stovall RBI single and a Cade Harris RBI single, and it became a two-run game one inning later in the sixth when Brenton Doyle doubled home Michael Toglia.

The Indians scored for the fourth consecutive inning in the in the sixth to make it a one-run ballgame when a Tyler Fitzgerald fielding error allowed the would-be third out of the inning to reach first while Javier Guevara scored from third, but the Ems pushed their advantage back to two in the eighth by drawing their fourth bases loaded walk of the game to make it 9-7 with Eugene needing six more outs.

However, they would only get one of those six outs before the game was tied as a Jack Blomgren two-RBI double in the eighth brought Spokane level with Eugene for the first time since the game’s first inning, sending the game to the ninth knotted at 9-9.

Following a scoreless ninth for either side, Tyler Fitzgerald led off the top of the tenth for the Emeralds and delivered just as he had done all series long, grounding a double down the left field line to score Brett Auerbach, who had started the inning at second, to put Eugene back in front, 10-9. Eugene added another insurance run later in the tenth when a wild pitch scored Armani Smith from third to make it 11-9 with Eugene needing just three outs.

Eugene would get those three outs from right-hander Taylor Rashi who after entering with one out in the eighth retired eight of nine batters faced to cap a series finale that finished just shy of five hours in length while seeing the Emeralds hit the road home to Eugene having taken four-of-six in Spokane.

PEAK PERFORMERS:

• Carter Aldrete – DH: Oppo tacos were once again on the menu for Aldrete who blasted a three-run homer for his second homer of the series and his fourth over the last XXXX games played, all of which have gone the opposite way.
• Armani Smith – LF: It was a fine series finale for Smith who finished with a team-high three hits, going 3-for-5 with a walk and three runs scored.
• Rashi – RHP: Rashi rebounded admirably from his prior appearance, retiring eight of nine batters faced while notching four strikeouts over the game’s final 2.2 innings to help Eugene seal the win.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Eugene Emeralds enjoy an off day on Monday before kicking off six-game home series against the Hillsboro Hops at PK Park on Tuesday evening. First pitch on Tuesday between the Emeralds and Hops is slated for 7:05pm PST.

You can catch all the action with Matt Dompe on the call via MiLB.tv, 95.3FM The Score, MiLB.com or on the MiLB app.

Tickets to Emeralds home games are available at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or by calling (541) 342-5367.

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