Emeralds Offense Explodes for 8 Runs in the 7th & 8th Inning to Secure a Game 1 Win
Published on September 3, 2025 under Northwest League (NWL)
Eugene Emeralds News Release
EUGENE, OR - The Emeralds defeated the Spokane Indians by a final score of 10-4. Eugene scored a combined 8 runs in the 7th and 8th inning. The Emeralds are now 44-17 in the 2nd half. The 44 wins is the most wins in a half by a team in the NWL in the High-A era.
Spokane got the scoring started tonight with a solo home run from Blake Wright in the top of the 2nd inning. Jimmy Obertop ripped a 2-out double and Tevin Tucker singled to bring Obertop home and give the Indians the 2-0 lead after 2 innings.
The Ems were able to get on the board in the bottom of the 4th. Charlie Szykowny led off the inning with his 27th double of the season. Jakob Christian ripped a single over to 3rd base to cut the lead to 2-1. Spokane responded with a run in the top of the 5th. Jimmy Obertop hit a 1-out home run to get the run right back.
The Emeralds scored a run in the bottom of the 5th. Zane Zielinski hit a solo home run for his 4th home run of the season and his 1st since August 6th to make it a 3-2 game.
After a scoreless 6th inning and top of the 7th the Ems were looking to tie or take the lead in the home half of the frame and they were able to do just that. Jack Payton hit a 1-out double and Quinn McDaniel tied up the game with a 2-out single to put the go-ahead run on. Jean Carlos Sio hit a bloop single out to left field before Jonah Cox hit his Northwest League leading 10th triple of the year to give the Ems their first lead of the night at 5-3.
We went to the 8th inning with the Ems looking to add on some runs of insurance. Parks Harber started off the inning by getting plunked on the hands to put a runner on. With 1-out both Onil Perez and Jack Payton drew 6 pitch walks to load up the bases. Zane Zielinski followed it up with the 3rd consecutive walk for the first run of the frame. A wild pitch brought home Perez for the 2nd run before the Ems had even tallied a single hit in the inning. That all changed when Jean Carlos Sio launched a moonshot off the roof in right field for his 3rd home run in his last 6 games to give the Ems a 10-3 lead.
Spokane scored a run in the 9th but it proved to not be enough as the Ems closed it out by a final score of 10-4. Greg Farone was solid in his start tonight and allowed 3 runs in his 6 innings of work while striking out 4 and not issuing a walk. Ryan Vanderhei is your winning pitcher after 2 scoreless innings. Vanderhei loaded up the bases with no outs in the 8th but got a force out at home before an inning ending double play to prevent a run from coming home to score. Junior Flores made his Emeralds debut in the 9th and didn't allow a hit but gave up a run after a leadoff walk but looked sharp in his first ever outing.
It was great to see Eugene get back in the win column tonight as they are now officially 27 games above .500 with 5 games remaining in the regular season. They'll look to stay hot to close out the week and into the Northwest League Championship next week.
The Ems will be back in action tomorrow night for a double-header. Game 1 is slated to start at 5:05 PM with Tyler Switalski on the mound. It will be two 7-inning games with a 40 minute intermission in between.
The Eugene Emeralds are the High-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants. The Eugene Emeralds are dedicated to providing the best in family entertainment and creating a fun, safe environment for everyone to enjoy watching a baseball game. For more information, please visit our website at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or call the Emeralds front office at 541-342-5367.
Northwest League Stories from September 3, 2025
- AquaSox Dominate Canadians in 8-1 Victory - Everett AquaSox
- Death by 17 Cuts: Dust Devils Sliced, Diced by Hops - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Hops Bash Another 17 Hits, Beat Tri-City 9-2 - Hillsboro Hops
- C's Start Final Series of '25 with 8-1 Loss - Vancouver Canadians
- Emeralds Offense Explodes for 8 Runs in the 7th & 8th Inning to Secure a Game 1 Win - Eugene Emeralds
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