Sports stats



NWL Eugene Emeralds

Emeralds Claim Third Championship in 5 Seasons

September 25, 2021 - Northwest League (NWL)
Eugene Emeralds News Release


After missing a chance to sweep the High-A West Championship Series on Thursday, the Eugene Emeralds took care of business on Friday.

A strong start from ace Ryan Murphy and a trio of long balls powered the Emeralds to a 5-0 blanking of the Spokane Indians in Game 4 at Avista Stadium. The title is the Emeralds' third in the past five seasons. It's the club's first campaign as a Giants affiliate.

Murphy, the 21st-ranked Giants prospect, delivered in the biggest moment for his squad as the right-hander scattered two hits and a pair of walks while whiffing seven over five frames. The 21-year-old never allowed a runner to reach scoring position while he was on the bump, and finished his outing with back-to-back punchouts of Daniel Montano and Daniel Cope. Murphy posted a 1.44 ERA and 0.67 WHIP with 48 strikeouts over six starts (31 1/3 innings) with the Emeralds to complete the regular season.

MLB Pipeline's No. 5 overall prospect Marco Luciano created some separation for Eugene in the fifth with a two-run tater to left-center that put the club ahead 3-0. That score held until the eighth when Ismael Munguia and 30th-ranked prospect Brett Auerbach launched back-to-back dingers to all but seal the victory for the Emeralds.

Right-hander Taylor Rashi took the ball from Murphy and tossed a pair of hitless innings -- working around a walk while fanning three. Righty Austin Reich twirled a perfect frame in the eighth with two strikeouts before Chris Wright closed the shutout after yielding a two-out triple in the ninth.

Despite being the home team, Eugene played the game in Spokane's ballpark due to a scheduling conflict with the University of Oregon baseball team.

Rob Terranova is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobTnova24.

Check out the Eugene Emeralds Statistics



Northwest League Stories from September 25, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central