Have a day, Heath Quinn.
The right-handed outfielder smashed the ball around for the Eugene Emeralds on Wednesday, hitting two blasts including a game-winning, momentum-shifting grand slam in the sixth inning.
The Emeralds went on to defeat the Spokane Indians 12-6 for their second straight victory since getting pounded at home by the Everett AquaSox. Franklin Labour and Tyler Fitzgerald also homered in the win.
Ismael Munguia led off the game with a double, but was stranded at second to kick things off.
Right-hander Conner Nurse took the mound for Eugene. After giving up a single and a double in the bottom of the first, a groundout brought home the game’s first run and gave the Indians an early 1-0 lead.
The Emeralds tied it right back up in the top of the second, as Fitzgerald smashed his team-leading eighth home run of the season.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the third, when a single, a walk and a double against Nurse brought in two runs to give Spokane the lead back. An inning later, Nurse gave up back-to-back homers to lead off the frame. The Emeralds trailed 5-1 after four innings.
They began clawing their way back though, receiving a pair of homers of their own in the next inning from Labour and Quinn. The home run party continued in the bottom of the fifth against Eugene reliever Jasier Herrea, making it a 6-3 game.
The Emeralds’ offense came roaring back in the sixth. Armani Smith walked and Sean Roby singled to set things up. With two outs, Labour walked, and a run came home on a passed ball. Tyler Flores followed with another walk to load the bases.
Quinn then stepped up to the plate, fresh off his fifth inning homer. After taking a ball, he smashed one to right-center field over the wall for a grand slam. With the flip of a switch, the Emeralds led 8-6. It was Quinn’s second homer in the last two innings, and third homer in the last two games.
Eugene reliever Solomon Bates allowed two baserunners in each of the sixth and seventh innings. He got out of it in the sixth, and in the seventh was replaced by Austin Reich, who successfully recorded the final out of the inning.
Labour provided the Emeralds with some insurance in the eighth, hitting a run-scoring single helped out by an error in right field. Quinn continued his exceptional night at the plate with a two-out single of his own, extending the lead to 10-6. Quinn had six RBIs on the night.
But they weren’t done there, as Munguia hit his second double of the game and Brett Auerbach came through with a clutch two-run double.
Lefty reliever Chris Wright shut the door, finishing the game with a double play to secure the 12-6 victory.
The Emeralds have scored 24 runs in their last two games after scoring 14 in their previous five. With the AquaSox losing their last two games, the Emeralds have already made up two of the games they lost in the standings over that brutal five-game stretch in Eugene last week.
They’ll look to keep it rolling and clinch a series split on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
