EUGENE -- Jerry Sullivan is thriving once again in a familiar role.
The Eugene right-hander had his fourth straight solid start since joining the rotation to lead the Emeralds to a 2-1 win over Tri-City on Friday night in front of 3,524 in Northwest League baseball at Civic Stadium.
Sullivan allowed one earned run and three hits in six innings while striking out three to improve to 3-2.
"I didn't have the command like I wanted tonight, but I told myself if I get the ball down in the zone I'll get some ground balls," Sullivan said. "We had some good plays out there to keep the game close."
Sullivan had a 5.91 ERA in six relief appearances to begin the season, but has lowered that mark to 3.45 since joining the starting rotation.
The third-round pick out of Oral Roberts has allowed four earned runs in 18 innings in his four starts.
Ryan Hinson followed Sullivan on the mound and earned his first save of the season with three scoreless innings.
He allowed only one hit and struck out the side in the ninth to finish with six strikeouts.
The game was scoreless through four innings, but Tri-City scored its lone run when Jose Gonzalez crossed home plate before a tag for the final out of the fith.
Eugene took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fifth after it loaded the bases with no outs.
Chadd Hartman walked and Ty Wright singled before Jason Codiroli walked to load the bases.
Dean Anna grounded into a fielder's choice that scored Hartman to tie the game.
Edinson Rincon followed with a sacrifice fly to left that scored Wright.
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Dust Devils drop Game 1 of NWL finals
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PASCO -- The Tri-City Dust Devils hopped on a bus for Vancouver, British Columbia, late Friday night after their 6-3 Game 1 loss to the Vancouver Canadians in the Northwest League Championship Series at Gesa Stadium.
Along with their bats, gloves and spikes, the Dust Devils hoped to carry a win across the border. Instead, they might need to pack a miracle or two, as they need to win both games at Nat Bailey Stadium to earn their first NWL championship.
"We've got to go up there and win two," said Tri-City manager Fred Ocasio. "They came in and beat us at home, but we're capable of doing the same thing."
Dust Devils head to NWL championship series
Dust Devils head to NWL championship series
PASCO -- The Tri-City Dust Devils have been able to hold champagne celebrations in the clubhouse twice this season.
First, the Dust Devils did it in late July after clinching the first-half title in the Northwest League East Division. They did it again Tuesday after a 9-1 win over Boise to win the NWL Divisional Playoff series at Gesa Stadium.
They're counting on getting good and happy one final time, hopefully to commemorate Tri-City's first Northwest League championship since 1984. The Tri-City Triplets were the last team from Tri-Cities to win the NWL title. The Tri-City Posse, an independent team, won the Western Baseball League championship in 1999.
LIVE BLOG: NWL division series, Dust Devils at Boise Hawks, Game 2
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With a win tonight, the Tri-City Dust Devils would win their first-ever playoff series. They looked awfully good during a 6-0 win over the Boise Hawks last night at Memorial Stadium.
Christian Bergman put together his normal brilliant outing, tossing seven shutout innings — his eighth outing of 7 innings or more and also the eighth time he's held the opponent without a run.
But one thing I've been impressed with about this team is they do the little things to win. It's true that guys like Tim Smalling, Brian Humphries and Tyler Massey are among the league leaders in extra base hits, runs and RBIs, but guys like Jared Simon, Leonardo Reyes, Juan Crousset and Jaron Shepherd have done a great job keeping things going with clutch hits and plus at bats.
Dust Devils fall in title bid
Dust Devils fall in title bid
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- This was not the way the Tri-City Dust Devils wanted to go out.
Tri-City players could only watch as the Vancouver Canadians celebrated their first-ever Northwest League title Sunday afternoon at Nat Bailey Stadium after a gut-punch of a 9-2 loss in Game 3 of the NWL championship series.
The Dust Devils locker room was dead silent after the loss. They built some momentum after a 5-3 win yesterday to keep their title hopes alive.
Bergman falls short of record
Bergman falls short of record
EVERETT -- Christian Bergman, the Tri-City Dust Devils ace pitcher, got hit hard Sunday in his pursuit of the Northwest League scoreless innings record, allowing five first-inning runs in a 6-3 loss to the Everett AquaSox.
Bergman, a second-year right-hander out of Altadena, Calif., came into the game with a streak of 30 2/3 shutout innings, just 1 1/3 shy of the NWL record of 32 held by Larry Loughlin (in 1965) and Joseph Carboni (in 1966), both of the Eugene Emeralds.
He struck out Everett leadoff man Marcus Littlewood to start the game and come within one inning of the mark. With one out, Bergman then allowed three consecutive hits, the last of which was an RBI single by Jharmidy De Jesus, to end the scoreless streak at 31 innings.
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