Eugene pitcher Wade LeBlanc allowed back-to-back singles in the first inning to Yakima Saturday, then proceeded to retire the next 14 batters before he left the game after the fifth inning.
LeBlanc’s performance was overshadowed by Yakima’s timely hitting and Eugene’s lack thereof as the Bears
(8-19 overall) defeated the Emeralds (15-12) 3-2 in front of a crowd of 4,189.
Yakima center fielder Travis Tully led off the game with a single and reached third base on a single by shortstop Blake Sharpe. With runners on the corners and no outs, LeBlanc settled down.
“I gave up a few bleeders early in the game …,” LeBlanc said.
The momentum started to swing when Sharpe was thrown out trying to steal
second base. Cyle Hankerd then hit a sacrifice fly that allowed Tully to score before Connor Janes ground out to end the inning.
LeBlanc didn’t allow another base runner while he was on the mound.
“I was able to locate pitches. I think that was the biggest thing,” he said.
Both Eugene manager Doug Dascenzo and LeBlanc said Ems’ pitchers stay on strict pitch counts.
“We go on pitch counts and I think I was close to my count,” said LeBlanc, who threw approximately 60 pitches. “I think I came out at the right time.”
Eugene tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when Mike Epping, who beat out a double play with two outs at first base, scored on an RBI double hit to the
left-field fence by Tom King. Matt Antonelli flied out to end the inning.
Matt Farrington, who relieved LeBlanc in the sixth, allowed three straight singles without recording an out. Jon Kirby replaced Farrington, giving up only one hit, an RBI single by Hankerd that was charged to Farrington, before closing out the inning.
Eugene had a runner in scoring position with two outs in the sixth and seventh innings, but was unable to get the elusive clutch hit.
“We couldn’t come up with the hits we’ve been coming up with,” said Antonelli, who pulled the Ems to within one run in the ninth.
Trailing 3-1 with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Epping hit a bloop single into left field. Epping reached second on a wild pitch and third base when he tagged on a flyout by King. Antonelli came to the plate as the tying run with two outs before an approximate 10-minute delay. Paramedics were called to take an unconscious woman who had been hit in the head by a foul ball earlier in the game.
When play resumed, Antonelli laced a two-strike RBI double that landed barely fair inside the right-field line to score Epping.
“Right there, I think there is more pressure on the pitcher,” Antonelli said. “I didn’t really feel any pressure there.
“I wasn’t looking for any pitch in particular. He threw it up a little bit so that makes it a little easier to hit.”
With the tying run in scoring position, Craig Cooper struck out to end the game.
Despite outhitting Yakima 9 to 6, Eugene left 11 runners on base to Yakima’s 1.
“They were scattered and they just didn’t get the hits when people were in scoring position,” Dascenzo said of the Ems at the plate.
Eugene plays the second of a five-game series at Tri-Cities (11-16) today at 11:15 a.m. before returning for action at Civic Stadium Saturday at 7:05 p.m. The Ems hosts Vancouver (16-11) and Everett (14-13) in back-to-back three-game series, starting July 22 and July 25 respectively.
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