Gouin Slows Ems Bats

Walks, hit batters, Ando HR add up to series leveler for Hops

By Matt Richert

July 11, 2016

Alex Gouin fanned 11 batters in his Hillsboro debut and the Hops pulled away with a six-run ninth inning to defeat Eugene 10-2 Sunday night at P.K. Park. Now within six games of the Northwest League South Division-leading Emeralds, the Hops close out the three-game series tonight at 7:35 p.m. before enjoying the first day off of the short season.

The Hops took advantage of wildness in the first inning by Eugene starting pitcher Pedro Silverio, scoring two runs without the benefit of a base hit. After Eugene tied the score with runs in the first and second innings, Hillsboro third baseman Josh Anderson hit a two-run homer to break the tie in the fifth.

Gouin, making his first start since being signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks from the independent Rockland Boulders in the Canadian-American Association, shut down the Ems after the second, striking out a Hillsboro 2016-best 11 batters in the process.

After Anderson's homer plated Manny Jefferson in the fifth, the Hops wouldn't put another runner on base until the ninth inning, which turned out to be an exaggerated version of the first, with a number of walks and a hit batter compounded by three hits and two Eugene errors. Justin Chigbogu struck the key blow with a bases loaded, a single botched in the Eugene outfield that allowed all three runners to score.

Anderson scored twice to go with his two RBI. Jefferson went 2-for-4 with three runs scored. Jose Queliz, a 2015 Hops recently added to the roster, added a pair of hits, including a double, run scored and RBI.

The Hops scored ten runs on just seven hits, taking advantage of seven walks, two hit batters and two errors. Gouin walked two and allowed five hits and two earned runs in seven innings to win his affiliated professional debut. Kevin Ginkel and Riley Smith combined on two innings of one-hit, scorelss relief with three more strikeouts and no walks.

Yeiler Peguero had half of Eugene's six hits.

Live coverage of tonight's series finale begins at 7:05 p.m. on Rip City Radio 620 AM. The Hops and Ems will meet three more times, all at P.K. Park, before the midseason break.