The Eugene Emeralds’ offensive outburst lasted all of one game.
After a 10-8 win against the Tri-City Dust Devils Thursday night, the Emeralds mustered only three hits in a 1-0 loss to the same opponent in the final game of their five-game series.
“They’ve got a great team, great pitching, and I’m glad to have been able to win the series against them,” first-year Emeralds manager Pat Murphy said. “We’ve got to have a better effort than we did tonight. All the credit goes to the pitching staff for sure, but we’ve got to do a better job to set the tone early in the game.”
Dust Devils starter Tyler Gagnon had a fantastic performance, throwing seven shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk while striking out seven.
The Emeralds pitching was similarly effective, with the notable exception of one pitch in the fourth inning from reliever Mark Pope that was hit out of the ballpark by Dust Devils shortstop Taylor Featherston.
Emeralds starter Colin Rea went three innings, getting out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the first inning before reaching his pitch limit. He gave up three hits and two walks and struck out two Dust Devils.
Featherston’s two-out solo home run to left-center field in the fourth inning, the game’s only scoring, was the only blemish on the record of Pope, who gave up three hits and a walk in three innings of work, striking out one.
Emeralds third baseman Travis Whitmore broke up Gagnon’s perfect game in the fourth inning with a two-out bunt single down the third-base line that barely stayed fair. Emeralds left fielder Jose Dore hit a bloop single to lead off the sixth inning, but was stranded there after his teammates went down in order.
In relief of Pope, Emeralds reliever Jeremy Gigliotti threw perfect seventh and eighth innings with a strikeout in each, and Kyle Brule did the same thing in the ninth.
Eugene came closest to scoring in the bottom of the seventh inning when shortstop Jace Peterson drew a leadoff walk and got to third base on a double down the third-base line from right fielder Lee Orr. However, catcher Matt Colantonio struck out swinging on a ball in the dirt, and then Peterson was tagged out trying to score on center fielder Kyle Gaedele’s grounder to shortstop. Pinch hitter Cole Tyrell flew out to left field to end the inning. Gaedele was the Emeralds’ last baserunner of the night.
“We’re the lowest-hitting team in the league,” Murphy said. “It’s been our nemesis.”
Eugene, which holds a one-game lead over Tri-City for the best record in the Northwest League, is set to embark upon an eight-game road trip, starting with three games against the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes before a five-game set against the Boise Hawks.