Carlin's hot, Ems are not in 8-5 loss.

Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard

Not long ago a catcher without a team and then a Fort Wayne Wizard in search of more action, Luke Carlin has in his first week in Eugene become all but indispensible to the Emeralds.

Offensively, he drove in or scored three of Eugene's runs Thursday night in an 8-5 loss to Everett at Civic Stadium as 3,708 watched Eugene (21-21) fall two games behind Salem-Keizer in the Northwest League's West Division.

Of more immediate importance than the standings or Carlin's offense is if he's not behind the plate for the Ems, who is there?

`He's my only catcher,' Eugene manager Roy Howell said, or is until another one arrives from elsewhere in the San Diego organization, perhaps in time for tonight's game.

No matter, Carlin said. `I'll go as long as they need me to go. We've got some guys who could back me up, but it feels good to play every day and I like the challenge.'

After an injury to one Eugene catcher and the loss of another shifted elsewhere in the San Diego organization, Carlin is the only able-armed catcher on the Ems roster, with Adam Shorsher, who is recovering from an arm injury, unable to play in the field. If Carlin had gone down the past couple of games, it would have meant an emergency appearance by outfielder Casey Baker or third baseman Greg Bochy behind the plate.

Not that Carlin would easily accept being taken out with the way his nights with the Ems are going. He's 4-for-10 in his first three games in the Northwest League, and catching every night is like it always used to be for a player taken in the ninth round of the 2002 draft by the Detroit Tigers.

At the end of this spring training, however, the Tigers released Carlin, a puzzling decision considering the value of a switch-hitting catcher who appears solid in the field.

`It was a misunderstanding with a coach,' Carlin said. `I don't think it's something I want to go into right now, but it was just a misunderstanding.'

Carlin had other organizations immediately interested, and signed with the Padres because of a past relationship with a scout. He played well enough in extended spring, Howell said, to earn an assignment to Fort Wayne in the Midwest League, a step up from the Ems.

Hitting from the left side, Carlin provided a lift to the ailing Eugene offense Thursday night with two hits, two RBIs and a run scored and also reached base a third time on a walk in his four plate appearances. Even his one failure to reach was a well-hit ball, a line drive that was caught by Everett's Josh Ellison with a last-gasp lunge that put the rightfielder on the outfield grass.

Unfortunately for Carlin and Eugene, that left the potential tying run at third - and the possible go-ahead run headed in that direction - in the bottom of the seventh inning when the Ems trailed 6-5.

Notes: Clark Girardeau, who had been 2-1 with a 4.76 earned-run average, will make his first professional start tonight for the Ems in the finale of the three-game series.

NWL 

STANDINGS

WEST DIVISION

W L Pct. GB

Salem-Keizer ... 23 19 .548 -

Eugene ... 21 21 .500 2

Everett ... 20 22 .476 3

Vancouver ... 19 23 .452 4

EAST DIVISION

Spokane ... 27 15 .643 -

Yakima ... 24 18 .571 3

Tri-City ... 19 23 .452 8

Boise ... 15 27 .357 12

THURSDAY'S RESULTS

Everett 8, Eugene 5

Salem-Keizer 7, Vancouver 4

Boise 4, Yakima 3

Tri-City 5, Spokane 2

TODAY'S GAMES

Everett at Eugene

Salem-Keizer at Vancouver

Boise at Yakima

Spokane at Tri-City

EVERETT EUGENE

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Ellison rf 4 0 0 0 Garcia ss 5 0 1 0

Bogelstd 3b 5 0 3 1 Johnson lf 5 0 1 0

Orlandos lf 4 0 1 0 Valenzla 1b 3 2 0 0

Dutton dh 5 0 1 0 Wlbrink cf 5 1 3 0

Colton cf 3 1 0 0 Pickens dh 5 1 2 1

LaHair 1b 4 1 0 0 Carlin c 3 1 2 2

Cox 3b 0 1 0 0 Bochy 3b 2 0 1 0

Ruchti c 3 2 2 0 Ramos 2b 3 0 0 1

Blakeley 2b 2 2 2 4 Baker rf 4 0 1 1

Navarro ss 4 1 1 2

Totals 34 8 10 7 Totals 35 5 11 5

Everett... 002 000 420 -8

Eugene... 010 300 100 -5

E-Garcia, Bochy, Ramos. DP-Everett 2, Eugene 1. LOB-Everett 5, Eugene 9. 2B-Ruchti, Blakeley, Johnson, Pickens, Carlin. HR-Blakeley. S-Ellison, Bochy. SF-Blakeley. SB-Colton, LaHair, Blakeley.

IP H R ER BB SO

Everett

Frye 5 7 4 4 3 2

Ockerman W, 1-0 1 2-3 2 1 1 2 2

Ovalles 1 1-3 1 0 0 0 3

Moorhead S, 13 1 1 0 0 0 3

Eugene

Perez 5 3 2 2 1 4

Yoshida 1 2 2 1 0 0

Darby L, 2-3 1 3 2 2 0 0

Rosales 1 0 2 0 2 0

Gregg 1 2 0 0 0 0

HBP-by Perez (Orlandos). Umpires-Nick Monaco and Cory Blaser. T-3:00. A-3,700.