Sports Editor:
Peter Hockaday
phockaday@yahoo. com
Best Bet 1
MLB: All-Star Game I
5 p.m., Fox K
Assisted by his hazer,
the person on the
horse in charge
of keeping the steer
going in a straight
line, S. Goodwin
of Pasco, Wash.,
eases off his horse
to catch his steer
before wrestling it to
the ground. Goodwin
was one of the
competitors in the
Eugene Pro Rodeo
at the Rodeo Grounds
Friday through
Sunday. In addition
to the rodeo action,
spectators also
enjoyed a dance
and food.
R. Ashley Smith for the Emerald
Wild, Wild,
WEST
R. Ashley Smith forthe Emerald
R. Ashley Smith for the Emerald
Wrestling his steer
to the ground
(above), K. Anderson
of Coieville, Wash.,
uses brute torce and
leverage to pull the
animal onto its side.
Everybody watched
the action (left) while
waiting to compete
at the Eugene Pro
Rodeo.
Home runs and good pitching power Ems to winning trip
■The Eugene Emeralds have
improved their record to 9-11 after a
recent offensive spurt led to wins
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
In minor league baseball, one game
is all that’s needed to turn a season
around.
That’s what Eugene Emeralds man
ager Jeff Gardner said after his team
blew out Yakima 13-0 on July 2 at Civic
Stadium.
He was right. That win preceded two
more home victories over Yakima, in
cluding a 5-4 battle on July Fourth. The
Ems opened up a five-game road trip
with two losses at Spokane, then
turned around for three straight victo
ries by a combined total of 13 runs.
Monday night’s contest was a perfect
example of the Ems’ recent turn
around. Eugene used power hitting
and decent pitching to blow out
Spokane 9-5 in Washington.
Spokane struck first with three runs
in the bottom of the second inning, but
the Ems answered with four runs in
the top of the third. First baseman Greg
Sain had a two-run home run — his
league-lead-tying fifth shot of the year
— to spur the Ems to a 4-3 lead.
After Spokane scored two runs in
the bottom of the third inning, Eugene
got another key home run from Jon
Benick in the sixth inning, a three-run
bomb to put the Ems up for good.
The Emeralds’ statistics for the
weekend were mind-boggling, con
sidering that Eugene averaged just
over four runs per game before that
13-0 rout of Yakima. The Ems had
five home runs in Sunday and Mon
day’s games, had back-to-back shots
both nights, have two players with ac
tive hit streaks over five games and
sent nine batters to the plate in an in
ning Monday.
After Monday’s contest, the Ems
have two hitters — Sain and shortstop
Jason Bartlett — in the Northwest
League’s top seven for hitting. Sain is
seventh overall with a .333 average.
The Ems have also gotten good per
formances from their starting pitch
ers. Before ace Scott Kelly left in the
Turn to Ems, page 6
Jessie Swimeley Emerald
Emeralds hitters Jake Gantreau (5) and Jason Bartlett (9) have sparked Eugene to a 6-4 record In its last 10 games.