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Spokane Indians

Spokane Indians notebook: Jack Blomgren homers for first pro hit; Riley Pint on comeback trail

Spokane Indians shortstop Jack Blomgren unsuccessfully tries to tag out Eugene’s Patrick Bailey as he steals second base at Avista Stadium on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. Blomgren homered in the sixth inning for his first pro hit. The Emeralds won 9-5.  (Kathy Plonka/The Spokesman-Review)

Shortstop Jack Blomgren was the Colorado Rockies’ fifth-round pick in the 2020 draft out of University of Michigan. In 2019 he was named to the All-Big Ten second team and College World Series all-tournament team.

Blomgren scored the first run of the new season on Tuesday on a solo home run in the sixth inning – his first hit as a pro.

“It felt great,” he said after the game. “Anytime you can start off your season with a barrel and getting ahead. It’s always a good thing to get that first one out of the way. It’s too bad we lost but it felt good.”

It was one of seven home runs in the game.

“At first we thought it was going to be a graveyard out here in this stadium,” he said. “But it seemed to be flying tonight so hopefully that goes our way, instead of the other teams.”

Pint makes impression

Reliever Riley Pint is trying to get his career back on track. The Colorado Rockies first-round pick in 2016, fourth overall out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park, Kansas, has battled injuries and wildness since turning pro.

In parts of four minor league seasons, Pint has made just 57 appearances, including 21 in 2019 with Low-A Asheville. He went 0-1 with an 8.66 ERA and 31 walks in 172/3 innings.

On Tuesday, he pitched one shutout inning with two strikeouts and a walk – with two pitches reaching the backstop.

Manager Scott Little is pulling for Pint.

“The guy pitched outstanding,” Little said. “He had big misses and big hits, if that makes any sense. Gosh, he’s so electric. He’s got such a great arm and he’s a great kid and I just wish nothing but for the best him, and it was a good outing for him.

“He wants to get out there and it’s just great to see his mind where it’s at, because this guy is learning how to be a competitor and he wants to get out there and grind. It’s a learning process for some people and this kid’s starting to get it. Hopefully we can get him out there the next day or two and we can see that electric stuff again.”

Vaccination destination?

On Monday, Gov. Jay Inslee released new guidelines for venues that want to include vaccinated sections in order to increase their capacity. The Indians are studying the guidelines, but it doesn’t appear that a vaccination section will pop up at Avista Stadium in the immediate future.

“We’re excited about the vaccinated section announcement by Gov. Inslee,” a team statement issued on Monday said. “With opening day just a day way, the complexities of reformatting our seating configuration, and staffing and training challenges, we are not able to safely implement this concept in the month of May.

“However, we are evaluating vaccinated sections for the implementation later in the season.”

An outdoor stadium in a Phase 3 county could only accommodate a capacity of 25% per section or 9,000 spectators maximum, whichever was lower. The Indians maximum capacity under those restrictions is 1,750, which was the announced attendance for opening day on Tuesday.