Big lead isn't safe, as Ems implode in ninth.

Byline: Steve Mims The Register-Guard

A three-run lead with two outs in the ninth looked pretty secure for Eugene, but it wasn't.

Eugene led 9-6 lead entering the ninth and Gary Poynter struck out the first two Hawks in the inning before Boise put together an improbable rally for a 10-9 victory in Northwest League baseball in front of 3,546 Saturday night at Civic Stadium.

With two outs in the ninth, Jose Valdez and Brett Jackson hit back-to-back singles before Jae-Hoon Ha singled in Valdez to cut the lead to 9-7. Closer David Erickson entered the game and walked Logan Watkins to load the bases.

Justin Bour came in as a pinch-hitter and drilled the second pitch to right for a double that scored all three runners.

"Change-up that was up," Erickson said.

Bour, who is hitting .333 this season, was getting a night off before becoming the hero in the last inning.

"I was just looking to be aggressive," Bour said. "Get a pitch to hit and swing at it. Lots of times pinch-hitters go in and wait to see a pitch, but I wanted to go out and swing. It was exciting."

It was the opposite emotion for the Emeralds.

"Get one out, that's all I needed to do," said Erickson, who ranks second in the league with six saves. "Didn't do it. I feel like I let them down. My job is to go out and get outs, and I didn't do it."

That capped a wild end of the game as Boise scored once in the top of the seventh to take a 5-3 lead before Eugene scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 7-5 lead.

Jason Codiroli hit a one-out single and stole second base before Vince Belnome hit a home run to left that tied the score 5-5. Belnome leads the team with six home runs and is tied for second in the league in that category.

Edinson Rincon walked and stole second before Jason Hagerty hit a two-out double to the wall in right field that scored Rincon. Emmanuel Quiles followed with a single that scored Hagerty to give the Ems a two-run cushion.

Boise got a run in the top of the eighth, but Eugene answered with two in the bottom of the inning on a bases-loaded single by Nate Freiman to take a 9-6 lead.

Eugene took an early lead for the second night in a row with two runs in the bottom of the first inning.

Belnome singled with one out before Rincon hit a grounder to third baseman George Matheus, whose throw to first was wild. Belnome raced all the way home as Boise had nobody covering home. Rincon made it to third on the play and scored on a sacrifice fly by Hagerty.

Eugene made it 3-0 with a run in the third after Boise starter Robert Whitenack walked three straight batters with two outs. Rincon followed with a single to left that scored Chris Tremblay, but Davis threw Codiroli out at the plate to end the inning.

The Hawks scored in the top of the third, then took the lead with three runs in the top of the fifth. Rohan and Matheus singled to open the inning before Matt Williams put down a sacrifice bunt and reached base on an error by pitcher Nick Greenwood.

Runey Davis followed with a high chopper off the plate that resulted in a groundout scoring Rohan. Lee followed with a run-scoring single before Valdez drove in Williams with a fielder's choice to put the Hawks ahead 4-3.

Notes: After the Portland Beavers, San Diego's Triple-A affiliate, canceled Friday's game because the Influenza-A virus hit seven players, a couple of Ems were sent to Portland to boost its roster. Outfielder Chadd Hartman and catcher Griffin Benedict will replace the affected players and are expected to return to Eugene by early next month. a Pitcher Jose De Paula, who is 1-0 with a 2.79 ERA in two appearances while recovering from an elbow injury, was sent down to rookie-level Peoria. De Paula had not pitched since June 27th.