NWL1 Eugene Emeralds

Four Pitchers Combine to Shutout Hawks

Published on July 15, 2019 under Northwest League (NWL1)
Eugene Emeralds News Release


After another thunderous combined effort at the plate and on the mound, the Eugene Emeralds (13-17) waltzed their way to a 6-0 shutout victory over the Boise Hawks (14-16) in front of 1,989 at Memorial Stadium.

Right from the get-go, the Ems offense jumped on Boise starter Zak Baayoun in the second inning. Jake Slaughter was plunked on the thigh with one out, followed by a single to left from Caleb Knight. With two outs and a 2-2 count, Darius Hill lofted a single to left, scoring Slaughter from second and putting the Emeralds ahead, 1-0.

The run would be the lone blemish on the start of Baayoun, as he largely kept the Emeralds offense at bay with 5.0 formidable innings of work, surrendering just four base hits while striking out five Eugene batters in what was his best outing of the season thus far.

Once things turned over to the bullpen, the Eugene hitters went to work once again. Luis Vazquez led off the seventh inning with a ringing double off the right field wall. After a flying, Luis Diaz worked a walk to put two runners on for Fernando Kelli. Kelli would loop a liner to center, creating a tough play for Boise center fielder Isaac Collins. As Collins charged in, the ball dropped in front of him and rolled underneath his glove, trickling all the way to the warning track. Both Vazquez and Diaz would score, with Kelli ending up at second, charged with a single and an RBI with an error given to Collins. Kelli would later steal third and trot home after a wayward throw from catcher Daniel Cope, gifting the Ems a 4-0 lead in the seventh.

Chase Strumpf would punctuate another stellar offensive effort from Eugene with a two-run blast to left field in the ninth inning, his second home run of the season. Strumpf's shot over the Memorial Stadium fence capped the scoring on the evening, sealing a 6-0 win for the Ems.

Not to be overlooked was another phenomenal performance on the mound for the Ems. Chris Clarke started just his second game of his pro career, posting 2.0 shutout and hitless innings to set the tone. Chris Kachmar followed him with 3.0 scoreless innings of his own, and Blake Whitney took the reins in the late innings with 3.0 stellar innings before Riley McCauley polished off the win with an eight-pitch ninth inning. In total, the four hurlers combined to allow just four base hits.

In the month of July, the emeralds own the top offense in the Northwest League, averaging almost seven runs per game while hitting over .315 as a team. They'll look to continue the strong run during Game Two in Boise on Monday night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:15pm PST at Memorial Stadium. Tune in to all the offensive fireworks on 95.3FM The Score with Pat Zajac.

The Emeralds return home for a three-game series against the Hillsboro Hops starting on Wednesday, July 17.

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

Check out the Eugene Emeralds Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Northwest League Stories from July 15, 2019


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