The Eugene Emeralds donned four different styles of throwback jerseys to pay tribute to the four decades they played at Civic Stadium, their former home field which burned to the ground Monday in a massive fire.
“When I heard the news last night, I was kind of in shock,” manager Gary Van Tol said. “I know how important that place is for this community and we feel for everybody. On behalf of the Chicago Cubs and our organization, our hearts go out to the whole community.”
The historic stadium was built in 1938 and became the Emeralds’ home field in 1969. Fans collected pieces of turf from the outfield in sentiment following the Emeralds’ last game at Civic Stadium on September 4, 2009.
“Only a few guys in that locker room had the privilege of playing or coaching at Civic Stadium, so we don’t have the history like a lot of locals do. But tell you what, when they come and watch us play hopefully they can start creating some good memories here.”
Local residents mourned their beloved ballpark Tuesday, but the Emeralds gave them something to smile about: a four-run eighth inning that propelled them to a 9-4 win over the Tri-City Dust Devils at PK Park.
2015 second-round draft pick Donny Dewees led off at designated hitter and stimulated Eugene’s offense. Dewees doubled, stole third then scored on a botched pickoff attempt to take the lead in the third. With two outs in the fourth inning, he yanked his second double down the first base line to score Tyler Alamo and Frandy De La Rosa for his first career RBIs. He knocked in his third and fourth RBIs on his third double of the night, an eighth-inning dagger.
“It’s definitely a big thing to get that off your shoulders,” Dewees said. “It’s nice to start feeling myself, swinging the bat the way I know I can and getting accustomed to the game again.”
Donnie Dewees, who led the nation in hits, runs, slugging percentage and total bases in his 2015 season with University of North Florida, went 1-8 in his first two games but mustered five hits in his last two.
“The pitching is definitely a lot harder here, velocity-wise at least,” Dewees said. “Every once in a while you’d see good arm in college, but here now its 90 to 94 (mph) every day.”
Eugene starting pitcher Carson Sands allowed one run on three hits and struck out four in five innings work. He lowered his WHIP to 0.81 in his third start and earned his first win of the season.
Eloy Jimenez cracked an opposite field solo home run in the first to give the Ems an early advantage. De La Rosa and Ho-Young Son added RBI singles.
The Dust Devils manufactured a run during a rally in the second, but Ian Happ, the Cubs’ 2015 first-round selection, limited the damage with a spectacular diving catch in center field that saved a run. Tri-City’s Carlos Belen knocked in two of his three RBIs on a double over Happ’s head in the sixth, but Happ gunned him down at third base.
The Emeralds (7-6) took four out of five against the Dust Devils and went 6-2 in its home stand. They’ll play a three game series at the Hillsboro Hops (7-6) starting Wednesday and return home Saturday for a five-game series versus the Vancouver Canadiens (6-7).
“I think we’re starting to gel as a team,” Van Tol said. “We got a little mojo going so I’m looking forward to taking this show on the road.”
Follow Kenny Jacoby on Twitter @KennyJacoby