Hillsboro Hangs Tough in 5-4 Comeback Win

May 9th (Hillsboro, OR)- The Hillsboro Hops showed resilience against the Eugene Emeralds in the Friday night battle at Hillsboro Ballpark. After being shut out for five innings, the Hops rallied to score four runs in the sixth, then took the lead for god in the eighth on an Angel Ortiz solo homer, completing a 5-4 comeback victory.

The Emeralds struck first in the top of the second when Zane Zielinski launched a solo home run. Bo Davidson followed with a double and scored on a throwing error by Hops' shortstop Cristofer Torin, giving Eugene a 2-0 lead. In the third, Quinn McDaniel tripled and scored on a single by Scott Bandura. Bandura stole second, and Zielinski got hit by a pitch, but was caught stealing to end the inning. Eugene continued to pad their lead in the sixth, capitalizing on a walk, fielder's choice, and a sacrifice fly to extend their lead to 4-0.

After five shut-out innings and only one hit to show for it, the Hillsboro offense erupted in the sixth to break through against Eugene. Anderdson Rojas reached on an error and advanced to second on a ground out. Ryan Waldschmidt singled, putting runners on the corners, and Demetrio Crisantes delivered an RBI single to center to get the Hops on the board. A flyout put both runners in scoring position, and a wild pitch brought home another run to make it 4-2. Jansel Luis then tripled to score Crisantes, and Kenny Castillo followed with a single to score Luis and tie the game at 4-4.

The Hops completed the comeback in the bottom of the seventh, when Angel Ortiz blasted a solo homer to put Hillsboro up 5-4. With two outs in the eighth, Eugene did threaten, but a throw from right fielder Ortiz to second baseman Luis to catcher Kenny Castillo ended with a play at the plate, and stopped the Emeralds from scoring. The Hops' bullpen kept the Eugene offense from scoring late and secured the 5-4 win.

John West started the game for Hillsboro, pitching four innings. He gave up three runs and four hits, striking out five and walking none. Liam Norris pitched 1.1 innings and walked four batters, striking out three and allowing one run. Eli Saul pitched 1.2 innings, giving up one hit in the seventh before striking out the next three batters he faced. Carlos Rey pitched one scoreless inning, and Phillip Abner completed the save efforts to secure the Hops' win. Carlos Rey (1-0) was credited with the win.

Josh Bostick had the ball to start for the Emeralds, pitching 3.2 innings, walking three and only allowing one hit. Cameron Pferrer threw 1.1 innings before giving the ball to Tyler Vogel, who pitched two outs, allowing four unearned runs and four hits. Ian Villers pitched 1.1 innings, giving up one hit, walking one, and striking out one. Nicholas Herold had the last inning, giving up two hits and one earned run, allowing the Hops to take the 5-4 lead and getting charged with the loss.

Game five of the series between Hillsboro and Eugene will be tomorrow afternoon at Hillsboro Ballpark. First pitch is at 4:05 with the pregame show starting at 3:50 on Rip City Radio 620 AM and Bally Live.