Emeralds take game three of the series

The Emeralds defeated the Spokane Indians by a final score of 5-2. The Emeralds have now won the first 3 games of the series against Spokane and have won 5 straight games overall. The Emeralds have a 48-45 record on the season and a 14-13 record in the 2nd half.

The Emeralds struck first in tonight’s ballgame. Last night, Aeverson Arteaga hit a 3-run walk off home run to give the Emeralds the victory and he picked up right where he left off. Grant McCray reached base to start the game and Arteaga followed it up with a 2-run home run to give Eugene the early lead. Arteaga has had a huge surge in his power recently, and now has 14 home runs on the season. It’s impressive to see the young shortstop put it together at the plate. He already is a high-level glove at shortstop, and he now has been coming into his own at the plate.

In the 3rd inning Eugene extended their lead. Arteaga recorded his second base hit of the game and Matt Higgins was able to drive him in for the run. It was Higgins 3rd double of the season with Eugene. In the 4th inning the Emeralds kept it rolling. Carter Howell had a base hit and Thomas Gavello knocked him in to extend the Emeralds lead to 4-0. The Emeralds bats have been red-hot over the past week and they don’t seem to be slowing down in any way.

In the 6th inning Eugene was able to add on their 5th and final run of the evening. Carter Howell hit a solo home run to left center field to extend their lead to 5-0. It was a big moment for Howell, as it was his 1st home run as a Eugene Emerald. Howell has been solid at the top of the order for Eugene ever since he joined the club over a month ago so it was great to see him get his first home run.

Eric Silva was the starter for Eugene and he had a very solid outing. He pitched 4 innings and allowed just 1 hit and 2 walks. He also struck out 2 batters. He didn’t quite qualify for the win as he didn’t go 5 innings, but nonetheless it was great to see Silva return to form. Matt Mikulski pitched the 5th and the 6th inning and didn’t allow a single base runner and he was able to strike out two Spokane batters. Mikulski earned the victory in the game for his 2nd of the season.

Brett Standlee pitched the 7th inning and allowed two runs to Spokane. He was able to settle in and work his way out of a tough jam. Nick Morreale came in and pitched a 2 inning save. He allowed 2 hits and didn’t walk a single batter. He struck out 2 batters en-route to his 2nd save of the season. It was a fantastic all-around performance from the Emeralds in tonight’s victory over Spokane.

The Emeralds now have guaranteed themselves a series-split against Spokane but will have 3 more opportunities to take the series. The Emeralds have been the hottest team in the Northwest League as they have won 5 straight ball games. They now have shot up the standings and are right in the thick of the 2nd half race.

The Emeralds will look to take their 4th straight ballgame against Spokane tomorrow night. Hayden Wynja is on the bump for the Emeralds and has been impressive so far in his Emeralds career. First pitch is set for 6:35 P.M.