It didn’t matter what Emeralds’ pitcher stepped to the mound on Tuesday night against the Boise Hawks. Regardless of name, each pitcher got hit hard by the explosive Hawks lineup in a 15 hit, 12 run debacle of a loss.
Coming into the game, Ems’ starting pitcher Bryan Verbitsky sported an 0-3 record, a misleading stat to describe the type of pitcher that Verbitsky is. Verbitsky has pitched solidly all season, but to his chagrin, hasn’t been helped with the necessary run support to notch some victories in the win column. With that being said, accompanied run support by the Ems’ offense was a not a factor in Verbitsky’s performance due to a 3 run 1st inning deficit.
After Eugene got on the board early with a sacrifice bunt RBI in the top of the 1st, Hawks’ power hitter Yasiel Balaguert stepped into the batters box with 2 runners on and cleared the bases with a 3 run home run. Boise added another run in the inning to increase their run total to 4.
With 3 innings pitched in the books, Eugene manager Jim Gabella called to the bullpen and Michael Kelly to keep the Hawks from adding to their lead, but Kelly only added insult to injury. Kelly threw 2 innings and allowed 5 runs (4 earned) as Boise broke the game open, increasing their lead to 8. Boise left fielder David Bote went 3-for-4 with 4 RBI’s to lead the offensive surge for the Hawks.
A loss of this caliber cannot fall on the shoulders of a single player. The Ems’ offense continually got runners on base, but failed to find a key hit when they needed it the most. The pitching staff allowed 15 total hits and are now accredited with the honor of allowing the largest run output for Boise this season.
Good news for the Emeralds is that they are sending out arguably their best pitcher tomorrow to face the hot Boise lineup. Since his promotion to Eugene, Coby Cowgill has been lights out. Cowgill is 2-0 with an incredibly low 1.62 ERA in 10 games pitched. In his last appearance Cowgill allowed 3 hits in only 3 innings and was a part of the Emeralds’ 5-0 shutout of the Spokane Indians.