Though many Eugene Emeralds fans likely didn’t know who he was during his first game, second baseman Cory Spangenberg’s final game in Eugene ended with him receiving a standing ovation with two outs in the ninth inning of the Emeralds’ 6-2 win over the Yakima Bears Monday at PK Park. The two-time Northwest League Player of the Week — who reached base in every game he played as an Emerald — will be promoted Tuesday morning to the Fort Wayne TinCaps, the long-season Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.
“I wasn’t really looking to be called up,” Spangenberg said before the game. “I was just looking at it game by game and whatever happened, happened.”
In his final game in short-season ball, the 10th overall draft pick in the 2011 draft went 1 for 3 with a single, a walk, an RBI and a run scored.
First-year Emeralds manager Pat Murphy showered Spangenberg with plaudits after the game.
“The kid’s destined to be a big-leaguer and he plays the game the right way,” Murphy said. “He doesn’t play the right way nine out of 10 times; he plays the right way all the time. It’s in him.
“I love the kid, man. I love him. He’s special to be around. That’s the way first-rounders are supposed to act, you know what I mean. Class kid, humble, giving, team guy, great teammate. I’m going to miss him a bunch.”
The Bears took the lead in the first inning when their leadoff hitter — former Oregon second baseman Danny Pulfer — was hit by a pitch and eventually scored on a groundout by Yakima third baseman Garrett Weber.
The Emeralds put together a run of their own in the bottom of the second inning with right fielder Lee Orr hitting a single to left field, and then advancing to third base when Bears starting pitcher Randy Hamrick threw a pickoff throw into right field. Orr was then driven in by designated hitter Jose Dore on a sacrifice fly to left field.
Eugene then took a lead in the third inning after catcher Matt Colantonio hit a triple over the head of Yakima center fielder Henry Zabala, and then scored when Emeralds shortstop Jace Peterson hit a single past Bears shortstop Raul Navarro.
Yakima tied the game up in the top of the fifth inning when Pulfer hit a double down the left-field line and was driven in by Bears designated hitter Zachary Jones on a single past Peterson.
Emeralds starting pitcher James Needy had his longest outing as a professional against the Bears, going five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on seven hits with a hit batter and no walks or strikeouts.
“Needy gutted it out,” Murphy said. “They put a lot of barrels on the ball, but he gutted it out. He gave us five big innings when our bullpen was a little bit tired.”
Eugene took the lead for good with a three-run sixth inning, with Dore hitting a two-run double over Yakima left fielder David Narodowski, scoring Spangenberg and Orr, and first baseman Zach Kometani scoring on a two-out single to right field by left fielder Mykal Stokes.
“They thought they would be able to blow a fastball by me and fortunately I was able to catch up to the second one and hit it over his head,” Dore said.
The Emeralds added an insurance run in the eighth inning when Peterson hit a single to left field, stole second and third bases and was driven in on a sacrifice fly in Spangenberg’s final at-bat.
“It’s a great feeling to know that your hard work is paying off. It’s going to be hard leaving these guys. I had a great time with them — great coaches, great teammates,” Spangenberg said. “But I’m looking forward to starting a new relationship with my new team soon.”
Eugene’s bullpen was stellar Monday, with two shutout innings each from relievers Greg Gonzalez and Simon Berroa, who combined to give up four hits and strike out five batters while walking none.
The Emeralds have their first off day of the season Tuesday, before embarking on an eight-game road trip to face the Tri-City Dust Devils and the Vancouver Canadians before returning to Eugene July 21 to again face the Canadians.
Kristopher Anderson contributed reporting to this article.