It was the most important day in Eugene Emeralds history, and the atmosphere was nothing short of tense.
The feeling that this team may be forced out of the Emerald City stretched all the way up to PK Park’s press box, where we all anxiously awaited the outcome of one of the city’s most important legislations as it relates to sports.
While the results of the vote do not look positive, the Emeralds’ bats reflected a whole different story. Eugene never took its foot off the gas, as it handley beat Spokane 12-5 on Tuesday night in the series opener.
Southpaw Seth Lonsway (2-1) secured his second win of the season in his 5.0 IP, where he only let up two earned runs and four hits, while the Emeralds (22-17) got their bats humming early and never let up.
Spokane’s RHP Victor Juarez (1-2) endured an early onslaught, and only lasted 2.0 innings, but gave up six hits and earned five runs in the process, which gave him tonight’s loss.
The emotion was palpable in the first, Lonsway got the Ems’ night started with a flawless 1-2-3 first inning.
Eugene followed that up with a Diego Velasquez double and a Rodolfo Nolasco single, but the Ems couldn’t capitalize.
Juarez could not find his rhythm in the second, as he hit the first batter and quickly walked the second.
Then Alex Suarez stepped up. A .220 hitter for the season coming into Tuesday, not much was expected from the Venezuelan — that was until Juarez hung a breaking ball right over the middle.
Suarez blasted the errant throw far into the Eugene night and past the opposing bullpen to score all three runs.
The rally didn’t stop there, as Quinn McDaniel reached on an error, took second, and was driven in by a second Velasquez double of the night. All four runs at that point were batted in by Venezuelan players.
That remained the case in the next frame, as a Zach Morgan single set up Suarez, and results eerily matched those in the second inning. Suarez took another hanging, off-speed offering from lefty reliever Caleb Franzen and nuked it well out of PK Park in left field.
In just the third inning, the Ems led 7-0 behind two home-runs that drove in five of those runs from Suarez.
Lonsway fell into trouble of his own, as he hit the first batter as the fourth opened. Then, an Andrew Kachel throwing error put two men on with no one out.
Then, Spokane’s Robby Martin Jr. got ahead of a Lonsway meatball and sent a moonshot into right for the Indians’ first three runs of the night.
But the Ems kept on rolling and rolling, and broke out another rally for three more runs, all coming off a Turner Hill double. 11-3 Eugene was the scoreline after just four innings of baseball.
After their three-run homer, the Indians continued to struggle at the plate, as Lonsway got himself back in rhythm.
Lonsway was relieved by fellow southpaw Seth Corry, who continued the defensive dominance well into the sixth.
However, the mood at the stadium, even when up seven runs, was severely dampened by the news that the first results for the crucial, city-wide vote were 67% in favor of shooting down the stadium proposal.
This means that the Ems may have to move out of Eugene in the coming years.
However, more baseball needed to happen.
While the baseball itself wasn’t horrible, the attitude in the stadium was the gloomiest I have ever experienced. It felt like a collective loved one died, and the game became a second thought to what might happen to this team and these hard-working employees.
The contest ended 12-5, but it felt like Eugene lost 20-0.
