The Eugene Emeralds fell to the Hillsboro Hops by a final score of 11-3. The series is now even at 2 games apiece heading into the weekend. The Emeralds are 60-58 on the season and 26-26 in the 2nd half. The Emeralds are 4 games out of a playoff spot with 15 games remaining in the season.
The Hops jumped out to an early lead in tonight’s ballgame. The Hops scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the 1st inning. Wilderd Patino started off the game with a single and he came home to score on a Gino Groover fielder’s choice. In the 2nd inning the Hops added 3 more runs. David Martin started off the inning with a walk and Seth Lonsway was able to retire the next two batters. Wilderd Patino hit an RBI-Single and Jack Hurley followed it up with a single. Gino Grover then hit a 2-out single up the middle to drive in 3 runs in 2 innings and the Hops held the 4-0 lead through 2 innings.
The next two frames were scoreless for both ball clubs. In the 5th inning the Emeralds belated their first two runs of the night. Ghordy Santos started the inning off with a triple and Damon Dues was able to hit him in on a single. The next batter Grant McCray hit a single and stole 2nd. Carter Howell hit a sac-fly out to left field to score the 2nd run of the night for Eugene. The Hops quickly responded with 2 runs of their own in the bottom of the 5th. David Martin hit a 2-out single to score both Groover and Cerda on the play.
The Hops continued to pour it on as they scored 5 runs over the next two innings. Tommy Troy hit an RBI-Double and Groover hit an RBI-Single. Andrew Pintar also hit an RBI-Single for the 3rd run of the inning. In the 7th inning the Hops scored two more runs for their final runs of the game. Tommy Troy ripped a 2-out double to score Juan Corniel and Wilderd Patino on the play.
In the 8th inning the Ems pushed home their 3rd and final run of the night. Carter Howell hit a 1-out single and two batters later he came home to score on a wild pitch that got away from catcher Christian Cerda. The bottom of the 8th provided some entertainment however as the Emeralds catcher Zach Morgan pitched the 8th. He gave up just 1 hit and didn’t give up a single run. The crowd was into it and cheered on Morgan on as he spun a scoreless 8th inning.
It wasn’t a great night all-around for Eugene, but they’ll look to bounce back in a big way tomorrow night. They still can win the series if they come out victorious over the next 2 games. Right-hander Daniel Blair will be on the mound for Eugene with the first pitch at 7:05 P.M.
