Eugene No. 9 hitter Thomas Gavello hits two-run homer in 10th, Spokane Indians lose third straight to Eugene 6-3
After scoring double-digit runs in two games earlier in the week, the Spokane Indians’ offense on Friday was shut down and shut out.
The offense didn’t get much better Saturday, but it did manage to push a few runs across – enough to get the game to extra innings.
But it was the visitors finding their offense in the 10th inning.
Thomas Gavello hit a two-run home run in the 10th, his second homer of the season, and the Indians lost to the Eugene Emeralds 6-3 in the fifth of a six-game High-A Northwest League series at Avista Stadium on Saturday.
The Emeralds (11-9) have taken three straight from the Indians (9-11) after Spokane won 17-5 and 10-5 on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Eugene’s Zane Zielinski singled on a ground ball off Cade Denton to score the free runner with one out in the 10th. Denton struck out Luke Shliger and got two strikes on Gavello, but the Emeralds’ No. 9 hitter clubbed the 3-2 pitch to right-center to make it 6-3.
In the bottom half, EJ Andrews was called out on a check swing, and Indians manager Robinson Cancel was ejected for arguing the call. Tevin Tucker walked to put two on with one down, but Caleb Hobson struck out and Jared Thomas flied out to end the game.
The Indians scored first in the third. Andrews led the inning off with a four-pitch walk. After a flyout, Hobson tripled to the right-center gap and Andrews scored from first just ahead of the throw.
Eugene answered in the fourth off reliever Stu Flesland (Mt. Spokane High). Charlie Szykowny singled and Quinn McDaniel walked. Scott Bandura followed with an RBI line-drive single to center, then Flesland coaxed a ground ball double play to get out of the inning.
Andrews, Tucker and Hobson led off the fifth with consecutive singles to load the bases, and Eugene manager Jeremiah Knackstedt went to the bullpen for righty Brayan Palencia. That brought up Thomas, who laced a single to center to knock in two.
The lead was short-lived, though, as McDaniel bounced a two-run homer off the facing of the caboose in right-center in the sixth for his first homer of the season to tie it at 3-all.
Eugene threatened in the eight with Welinton Herrera pitching. With one down, McDaniel singled and stole second. With two down, Zielinski’s infield single put runners at the corners. Shliger walked to load the bases, but Herrera struck out Gravello to escape damage.
For starters: Indians starting pitcher McCade Brown, in his fourth start, went three shutout innings and allowed two hits and a walk with three strikeouts. He threw 52 pitches, 32 for strikes.
Brown missed all of the 2023 season recovering from elbow ligament replacement surgery and made just 12 appearances last season. He has yet to give up a run over 11 innings this season.