The first four Eugene Emeralds definitely earned their leadoff spots Monday night. The top four batters in the Ems lineup accounted for five runs in a 6-1 romp over the Southern Division rival Portland Rockies.
The 2,639 fans on hand at Civic Stadium enjoyed a mix of quality hitting and pitching for a solid win on a calm, summer evening.
Leadoff man Blake Blasi led the way reaching base all five times he was at the plate. The second baseman scored two runs and batted in one while being walked three times.
“It’s very key for me to find all the pitches and work the count,” he said. “That’s something I’ve been doing work to improve on.”
Right fielder Nic Jackson also reached first base on all five plate appearances, going four-for-four with two runs-batted-in.
“Nic has really settled into that No. 2 spot,” Ems manager Danny Sheaffer said. “Towards the beginning of the season he wasn’t as aggressive at the plate, but now he’s doing just that.”
No. 3 hitter Mike Mallory and cleanup hitter Brandon Sing also fared well against the Rockies, each scoring one run while batting in another.
After holding a slim one-run lead for five innings, the Ems broke out in the sixth. Jackson’s triple scored Blasi, who reached on a grounder to lead off the inning. Eugene scored twice more in the inning on extra-base hits from Sing and Adam Morrissey.
Catcher Ryan Jorgensen went one-for-five with a double and a run-batted-in.
Eugene also got a big boost from the pitching staff. Starter Mark Freed scattered five hits over five innings and gave up only one run. Freed improved to 6-0 on the season — tops in the Northwest League.
Francis Beltran and Scott Fries each came in for two scoreless innings of relief. Beltran got out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the seventh inning with a double-play ball and his fourth strikeout of the night.
The win moved the Emeralds to 21-19 on the season, but more importantly, a game and a half ahead of Portland in the division standings.
The Rockies’ lone bright spot was center fielder Vernard Morency, who went four-for-five with two doubles. His lone out came at third base when he easily had a double but went for the extra base and got thrown out.
“This was obviously a big game for us,” Sheaffer said. “This league is so evenly matched that every game is important.”
The Ems got back to Eugene at 5:30 a.m. after a rough road trip in Boise, where they lost three of five. The Ems will get a chance for revenge on the Hawks later this month at Civic Stadium.
“A lot of the guys were real happy to be home,” Blasi said. “It’s nice to get back to Eugene with the fans.”
The Ems play their next five games at home against division rivals Portland and Vancouver.