Ems Fall Short in Back and Forth Loss against Spokane
Published on June 11, 2026 under Northwest League (NWL)
Eugene Emeralds News Release
EUGENE, OR - The Emeralds fell to the Spokane Indians by a final score of 10-9 to even up the series at a game a piece to start the week. 16 of the 19 runs scored tonight came with two outs as there were also seven different lead changes. Eugene is now 40-19 in the first half after clinching the first half last night. There are just seven games remaining in the half.
Spokane got the scoring started tonight in the top of the second inning. Max Belyeu crushed a home run with two outs and nobody on to give the Indians the early lead. The Ems answered back in the home half of the frame with a run of their own. Jakob Christian smoked a double off the wall as he just missed a home run but it was only a precursor of what was yet to come. The next batter, Zander Darby, smoked a single to tie up the game at 1-1 after two innings.
Eugene plated a run in the fourth and the fifth inning to take their first lead of the game. Jancel Villarroel hit a leadoff double before Carlos Gutierrez singled and Christian drew a walk to load the bases. Darby hit a Sac-Fly RBI to bring home a run. In the fifth, Trevor Cohen poked a double down the third base line and Gavin Kilen hit a two out double to bring Cohen home and extend the lead out to 3-1 through five innings.
The game went off the rails over the next as there were 15 combined runs with 13 of them coming with two outs. Spokane scored three in the top of the sixth after Kevin Fitzer hit a go-ahead three run blast to left field. The Ems got the lead back as it was Lisbel Diaz who hit a two out home run to put the Ems back on top 5-4.
Both teams combined for four runs in the seventh with every run coming with two outs. Juan Castillo hit a leadoff single before Roynier Hernandez drove home the first run with a knock to center field to tie the game. After Ethan Hedges got hit by a pitch Jack O'Dowd crushed a 424 foot blast to straight away center to put Spokane up by three runs.
The Emeralds threw another punch back in the bottom of the seventh. Dakota Jordan hit a double and Kilen & Villarroel both reached on free passes to load up the bases with two outs for Christian. I mentioned earlier that he had just missed a home run in the second inning, but he didn't miss it this time as he crushed a go-ahead grand slam to put the Ems back out in front. It's the fourth grand slam of the year for the Ems.
Spokane rallied for two runs in the top of the eighth for the seventh and final lead change of the night. Juan Castillo tripped before Kelvin Hidalgo tied up the game on the next pitch with a double. That flipped the lineup to the top and Tommy Hopfe permanently put Spokane in front with an RBI-Single to make it 10-9 after eight innings.
The Ems were able to get the first two base runners on in the bottom of the ninth but they weren't able to complete the comeback as they fell by a final score of 10-9 to even up the series at 1-1.
The Ems will now look to bounce back and get in the win column tomorrow night. First pitch is set for 6:35 PM with Tyler Switalski on the mound for Eugene. Matt Dompe will be on the call for play-by-play tomorrow night.
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 June 11, 2026
- C's Stay Hot in 7-2 Victory over 'Sox - Vancouver Canadians
- Everett Falls 7-2 Wednesday Night in Vancouver - Everett AquaSox
- Ems Fall Short in Back and Forth Loss against Spokane - Eugene Emeralds
- Cunningham Walks It off for First High-A Hit - Hillsboro Hops
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