EUGENE. Ore – In the final game of a five game series between the Boise Hawks and the Eugene Emeralds, Hawk’s center fielder Pin-Chieh Chen dominated the Emeralds pitchers on way to the 11-6 victory for the Chicago Cubs farm team.
Chen, who leads the Northwest League in steals (4) and ranks sixth in batting average (.429), had his way at the plate. He finished the game 4-for-5 with three RBIs, three runs and a stolen base.
When asked about Chen, Eugene skipper, Pat Murphy said that he was happy that he wasn’t going to be in the line-up tomorrow with a chuckle.
The Hawks (2-3) took control right from the beginning of the game scoring four runs in the first two innings.
Boise center fielder Pin-Cheih Chen controlled them Emeralds pitching finishing the game 4-for-5 and three RBIs. // Photo: Alan K. Fox
The scoring started in the top of the first inning when the Hawks’ first baseman, Paul Hoilman hit his second homerun of the season — a two run shot, with two outs, that brought in Chen who was on second base after stealing. It would be the second consecutive night that he hit one out of PK Park.
Hoilman’s two homeruns lead the Northwest League.
Allowing runs with two outs was a trend the Emeralds fell into in the final game of this series, allowing six runs with one out remaining in the innings.
Boise would respond with two more runs in the second inning off of a two-run single by Chen.
The Emeralds (3-2) would respond with a rally in the bottom of the third inning scoring three runs of their own making the score 4-3 after three innings.
The scoring was topped of by a RBI-double by the Padres first round pick second baseman, Cory Spangenberg, who they selected 10th overall in this years draft.
Spangenberg is third in the Northwest League in on base percentage (.583) and ranks 10th in batting average (.357).
Murphy is delighted to have Spangenberg on his squad and says he is everything people thought he would be being selected so high in the draft.
“Spangenberg is everything you think he is he puts together good ABs after good ABs, plays solid defense, plays every pitch of the game,” Murphy said. “He doesn’t do anything great — except play the game great. He is really impressive.”
Boise refused to let the Eugene rally slow them down and bounced back with a two-run forth inning to go ahead 6-3.
Chen would earn his third RBI of the game on a triple in that scored Boise shortstop Wes Darvill from first in the and later scored another run later in the inning.
Eugene would make another run and tie the game at six runs apiece — by scoring three more runs over the fifth and sixth innings.
They scored a run in the fifth inning when Spangenberg hit a sacrifice fly to drive in designated hitter Travis Whitmore.
Cory Spangenberg (sliding) ranks third in the Northwest League in on base percentage. // Photo: Alan K. Fox
In the sixth inning the Emeralds scored the first of two runs in the inning off of a RBI-double by Mykal Stokes — who joined the team just a day prior.
“I knew that there was a guy in scoring position, so what I was trying to do was put the ball into play hard somewhere,” Stokes said. “My main goal was hit in the gap somewhere and put a little backspin on it and hit it hard.”
The tying-run scored for the Emeralds, a San Diego Padres farm team, when shortstop Jorge Minyety drove in Whitmore on a single.
“We just go out and do the best we can you know it was a good game,” Minyety said.
The rally would be ended with two-strait fly-outs to the Hawks’ outfielders and that would be the end of the scoring for the Emeralds for the game.
Once again Boise would not let the Eugene rallies slow them down — scoring five runs over the seventh and eighth innings securing the win 11-6.
The Hawks scored three runs in the seventh, which was capped of with a two-run single by Chad Noble.
In the eighth inning Hoilman put the final runs on the board with a two-run single. He finished the game 2-for-3 at the plate with a homerun and four RBIs.
The Emeralds travel to Keiser, Ore. on June 22 to start a three-game series with in-state rival, Salem-Keiser Volcanos (1-4). The first pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
Alan K. Fox can be reached at alanfoxjr@gmail.com or on Twitter @alankfox
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