NWL1 Eugene Emeralds

Franklin Shines as Ems Fall to Start Second Half

Published on July 24, 2019 under Northwest League (NWL1)
Eugene Emeralds News Release


The Eugene Emeralds (0-1, 16-23) started the second half of the 2019 Northwest League season on a sour note Tuesday night, falling to the Boise Hawks (1-0, 16-23) by a final score of 3-0 at PK Park.

Fresh off of finishing in third in the NWL's South Division during the first half, the records reset when the clock hit midnight on Tuesday, bringing new life the Emeralds.

However, the Hawks arrived in Eugene equally as eager to start the second half, and they got the start they were looking for in the third inning.

After both starting pitchers held each offense at arms-length through two innings, the Hawks struck first in the third, starting with a leadoff double down the left field line from Bladimir Restituyo, just shooting past the outstretched arm of a diving Jake Slaughter at third. During the ensuing at-bat, Restituyo swiped third for his 14th stolen base of the season, and he was immediately brought home in the same at-bat when Ezequiel Tovar lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, giving Restituyo more than ample time to trot home and give Boise the game's first lead.

Two innings later, Restituyo's speed paid off once more to help the Hawks double their advantage. After Emeralds reliever Blake Whitney retired the first two batters he faced in quick succession, Restituyo followed with what appeared to be only a semi-dangerous fly ball to right field. However, an apparent miscommunication between right fielder Jacob Olson and center fielder Zac Taylor resulted in the ball bouncing between the two of them and trickling all the way to the outfield wall, giving Restituyo all the time he needed to touch all four bases for an inside-the-park home run.

In the sixth, the Hawks made it 3-0 after a Michael Toglia leadoff walk, a Yorvis Torrealba single, a Trevor Boone sacrifice bunt and a sac fly from Vladimir Dilone, ending a perfectly executed example of small ball to score Toglia from third.

The run from Dilone capped the scoring for both sides as the Emeralds offense failed to get a runner across home plate on the evening, continually held at bay by a battery of five different pitchers as the Hawks earned a 3-0 win on the evening.

Despite taking the loss, Emeralds starting pitcher Kohl Franklin (1-2) was strong on the mound once more, firing 4.0 innings with two hits, one (earned) run, two walks and five strikeouts on 57 pitches. The outing was Franklin's seventh consecutive start allowing one earned run or less to open the 2019 season.

The Emeralds will look to level the series on Wednesday with Cubs first rounder Ryan Jensen on the mound making his third professional start. First pitch between the Emeralds and Hawks is scheduled for 7:05pm PST.

You can find the full promotional schedule for the 2019 Eugene Emeralds season by visiting www.EmeraldsBaseball.com.

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 24, 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