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NWL1 Eugene Emeralds

Pitching Powers Ems to Second Straight Win

August 3, 2019 - Northwest League (NWL1)
Eugene Emeralds News Release


Strong pitching powered the Eugene Emeralds (6-5, 22-27) to their second straight victory on Friday night, a 5-0 win over the Boise Hawks (6-5, 21-28) in front of 3,651 fans at PK Park.

Coming off a dominant 9-2 win the night prior, the Ems opened up a three-game series against the Hawks aiming to keep it rolling to start the second half of the Northwest League season. Manager Lance Rymel sent 2019 Cubs third rounder Michael McAvene to the mound, and the right-hander out of Louisville did not disappoint. McAvene fired two scoreless, hitless innings while issuing zero walks and striking out five batters.

Soon after McAvene departed, the Emeralds offense struck first to take the game's first lead thanks to some first-pitch hitting. After Luis Diaz and Fernando Kelli were retired to start the bottom of the third, Pedro Martinez continued the hot start to his stint with the Ems by lacing a triple down the right field line on the first pitch he saw, and Darius Hill followed with a single to center on the very next pitch to put the Ems ahead, 1-0.

The Emeralds held their narrow one-run advantage until exploding for four runs in the seventh. After Boise starting pitcher Micah Kaczor exited in favor of Stephen Jones to start the inning, the Ems welcomed the new pitcher by stringing together four straight hits and plating three runs in the process. After a Caleb Knight single and an Edmond Americaan ground rule double put runners on second and third to start the inning, Luis Vazquez slapped a single to center field to score both runners and make it 3-0. One batter later, Jake Washer blasted a double to deep center field, easily scoring Vazquez to make it 4-0 and chase Jones from the game without having recorded an out.

Jones gave way to Fineas Del Bonta-Smith, and after a sac bunt from Luis Diaz moved Washer up to third, A Fernando Kelli sacrifice fly to center field scored Washer from third, the final feather in the cap of a four-run inning that resulted in the Emeralds heading to the eighth leading 5-0.

Meanwhile, the Emeralds pitching staff was putting on another show as McAvene, Chris Allen and Riley McCauley combined to hold Boise to just one hit, two walks and zero runs on the evening. Allen tossed 5.0 scoreless innings in relief following McAvene while McCauley shut the door in the eighth and ninth innings.

The Emeralds will look to make it three-in-a-row on Saturday when they face off against the Boise Hawks once more. Saturday marks the beginning of Star Wars Weekend as the Emeralds will wear specially designed BB-8 uniforms on both Saturday and Sunday.

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.

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Northwest League Stories from August 3, 2019


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