Hops Drop Third Straight, Fall Two Back

It's not a playoff series, but the Hops seem to be infected by their recent Eugene postseason curse.
Luis Vazquez ripped a two-out RBI ground rule double to right field to score Caleb Knight with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Eugene Emeralds needed just two hits to defeat the Hillsboro Hops 2-1 at P.K. Park Thursday night.

Jake Slaughter hit a solo home run in the fourth inning and made a critical defensive play to rob Daniel Wasinger of what could have been a run-scoring hit in the second inning.
The Hops tied the score on Jesus Marriaga's two-out RBI single up the middle, scoring David Garza, Jr. in the top of the fifth. Kristian Robinson followed with a base hit to left field, but Jorge Barrosa was thrown out at the plate by Zac Taylor trying to score.
The Hops outhit Eugene 4-2, but five Hops pitchers walked seven Eugene batters, with Trevor McKenna's one-out walk putting Caleb Knight aboard in the seventh before Vazquez's game-winning hit.
Riley McAuley pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth save to make a winner out of Scott Kachmar. The 28th-rounder out of Lipscomb University threw three hitless, scoreless innings of relief to go to 3-0 in three Northwest League appearances.
Salem-Keizer beat Boise 2-1 to give the Volcanoes a 2-game lead over the Hops in the NWL South Division with four games left before first-half division winners are crowned.
Ryne Nelson, a second-round pick out of the University Of Oregon, started on the mound for the Hops and pitched a scoreless first inning with one walk in his return to P.K. Park. Nick Snyder, an 11th-rounder out of West Virginia, struck out two batters with one walk in his Hops debut, pitching a scoreless second inning. 
Cubs first round selection Ryan Jensen (24th overall, Fresno St.) went the first two innings, striking out four with one walk, while benefitting from Slaughter's diving stop at third on Wasinger's sharp ground ball with runners at first and second and none out in the second inning.
The Hops and Emeralds wrap up their three-game series at 7:05 p.m. Friday night, then head to Ron Tonkin Field for three more games to complete the first half of the season. Pregame airtime is at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Northwest Rip City Radio 620 AM.