What a game last night! Dang... Mitch Canham's first homerun as a pro and it is a Grand Slam, an over-the-scoreboard-no-doubt-about-it kinda hit. He has quickly grown as the "hometown" favorite. It could be he is the best received Beaver (OSU) ever in Eugene (UO, Ducks). I can't be sure about that because I haven't been here forever...
And another crowd pleaser is Brian Lauderdale, out of Roswell, GA. Back from last year's Ems team, he is one of my faves too... he had a whale of a game, getting 3/4 of a full cycle with 2 singles, a double and a triple. The lack of a homerun is hardly a fault in a game like this, where the game went almost 4 hours and it took 8 runs for the Ems to win against a stubborn Vancouver (BC) team. Anyways.... Lauderdale... engaged in a version of baseball you only get to see once in a while at home plate or close to home... played Tackle Baseball!
I mean I'm a multi-sport kind of guy, I love baseball, basketball and football and play all 3. Ice Hockey... well, its too darn cold and if maybe I'd been introduced to it at a younger age... Soccer? Nah (even tho' I realize it is almost THE international sport). But, as a multi-sport guy, when the opportunity arrives to mix things up... have you ever tried to dribble a football? or played basketball in a pool? Lauderdale was on his way home and had no chance to beat the throw to the plate. He didn't beat the throw, but he sure decided to take the shortcut to the plate. Which (and you won't find this on any map) meant he had to go through the catcher. He almost made it. Almost...
Nice job Brian!
As a solid object the Vancouver catcher gave up some ground and ended up flat on his keester, but managed to hang on to the ball. To his credit. I mean it was, truly, a full blown, shoulder down, "I'm-on-my-way-and-you-ain't-stopping-me" collision. And the visiting Canuck catcher is not a big guy... lucky for him Brian is only 5'10 and 170 pounds.
So... here is the next gallery, from the series that ended Friday night with the Everett (WA) Aquasox, featuring another with those un-celebrated groundskeepers, Russ Eisenstein (the radio voice of Ems baseball on 1120 AM), beautiful women and handsome men, some Ems fans having a good time, an inflatable giant bat, Luis Durango airborne, another gorgeous Oregon sunset (which to me is when Civic Stadium is its most beeootiful)... and more!
Enjoy:
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