The Emeralds took game 5 against the Hillsboro Hops by a final score of 13-4. It was the third time in 5 nights that the Emeralds have scored 13 runs against the Hops. They now have a 3-2 series lead as they’ll look to take the series tomorrow afternoon. The Emeralds record sits at 44-45.
The Emeralds wasted little time in tonight’s ballgame. After the first two batters were retired, Jared Dupere hit a triple. Matt Higgins got hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners for Luis Toribio. Toribio took the Hops starter Jose Cabrera deep for his 11th home run of the season and the Emeralds had taken the 3-0 lead. The Emeralds have now scored in the 1st inning twice this series. In the 2nd inning the Hops were able to cut into the deficit. With a runner on, Gary Mattis Jr hit a 2-run home run to make the lead 3-2 in favor of Eugene.
In the 4th inning the Emeralds kept the hit parade rolling. Grant McCray led the inning off with a single and Carter Howell followed it up by drawing a walk. That brought Jared Dupere to the plate who had already tripled in the first inning. Dupere was able to reach base via error and give the Emeralds the 2-run lead. The very next batter, Matt Higgins, hit an RBI-Single that scored Carter Howell on the play. Luis Toribio then proceeded to rip a shot down the outfield line and hustled into 2nd base for the double. Higgins came home to score on the play. A couple of batters later Thomas Gavello hit a Sac-Fly RBI that scored Toribio on the play to give Eugene the 4-run inning. It was Gavello’s first RBI with the Emeralds.
In the 4th inning Ghordy Santos got the inning started off by drawing a walk. He was able to steal 2nd base. After a pop-out, Carter Howell hit an RBI-Single to give Eugene the 8-2 lead. It was an impressive start offensively for the Emeralds. The start tonight for Eugene was Hayden Wynja, and he pitched 5 innings and allowed 4 hits and 2 earned runs. He walked 3 batters and struck out 4. He earned the victory in tonight’s ballgame in just his 2nd career start with the Emeralds.
The Emeralds were able to score runs over the final four frames of work. In the 6th inning Grant McCray hit a one out single and Jared Dupere followed it up with a single of his own. Matt Higgins hit another single to score McCray on the play. Higgins ended the night with a pair of RBIs. In the 7th inning Brett Auerbach was able to single and followed it up by stealing both 2nd and 3rd base. Auerbach was able to come home and score on a passed ball to make the lead 10-3. The Hops added another run in the bottom of the 7th. Juan Corniel hit a Sac-Fly to score Channy Ortiz on the play.
In the 8th inning the Emeralds added a pair of runs. Jared Dupere singled and Luis Toribio followed it up with a double. Aeverson Arteaga hit a Sac-Fly RBI to score Dupere on the play. Thomas Gavello then hit an RBI-Single for the 2nd run of the inning. In the 9th inning the Emeralds added one more run of insurance. Ghordy Santos started the inning off with a single and Grant McCray singled as well. The next batter, Carter Howell, grounded out and Santos was able to come home and score the Emeralds 13th and final run of the night. In the bottom of the 9th inning Hunter Dula pitched a 1-2-3 inning to close the door and give Eugene the 13-4 victory.
The Emeralds now have a chance tomorrow to close out the series and earn the series win. First pitch is set for 1:05 P.M. Nick Sinacola will get the start on the bump. Sinacola pitched during Tuesday’s 13-1 victory. He pitched 5 innings and allowed just 2 hits and 0 earned runs. He struck out 4 batters and walked just 1 batter. He’ll look for his 2nd victory tomorrow afternoon.
