Emeralds Take Control in 8-2 Win Over Hops

May 10th (Hillsboro, OR)- One night after a valiant comeback win, the Hillsboro Hops could not recreate the magic, falling 8-2 to the Eugene Emeralds on Saturday at Hillsboro Ballpark. Tied at 2-2 in the third, Eugene pulled ahead in the fourth and took full control of the contest.

The Hops jumped out early, scoring two runs in the first. Druw Jones doubled and advanced to third on a groundout before Ryan Waldschmidt drove him in with a double of his own. A Kenny Castillo RBI single plated Waldschmidt to make it 2-0.

The Emeralds scored two runs in the third, starting the inning with a single by Zane Zielinski. A sacrifice fly put him on second, and a hit by pitch put runners on first and second. An RBI single by Bo Davison scored one. Jonah Cox tied the game at 2-2 with a sacrifice bunt.

Eugene kept the momentum going, scoring two more runs in the fourth. A hit batter, followed by a single from Quinn McDaniel, put runners on the corners. McDaniel stole second, and a sacrifice fly scored one run. A wild pitch from Hops' starter Logan Clayton put Eugene up 4-2.

Clayton exited the game after five innings of work, after allowing four runs on six hits and striking out one. Jorge Minyety took the sixth, allowing Eugene to tack on three more runs. One batter reached on a walk, and one on a hit by pitch. The Emeralds stole two bases in the inning, but Jorge Minyety picked off a runner at second to minimize the damage, but Eugene was already up 7-2.

Alexis Liebano took over in the seventh, allowing one unearned run on one hit over 1.1 innings, with two walks. Jonah Cox singled, stole second, and later scored on a groundout to make it 8-2. Sam Knowlton and Edgar Isea combined for scoreless appearances to close the game, with Isea striking out three in one inning.

In total, Hops pitchers issued eight free passes, coming from five walks and three hit batters. Clayton (0-1) was charged with the loss.

Eugene starter Cesar Perdomo (2-2) threw five innings, only allowing two earned runs and five hits to earn the win. C.J. Widger and Maruqes Johnson followed with four combined scoreless and hitless innings to shut the door on Hillsboro.

The last game of the series between Hillsboro and Eugene will be tomorrow morning at Hillsboro Ballpark. First pitch is at 1:05 pm with the pregame show starting at 12:50 on Rip City Radio 620 AM and Bally Live.