Waldschmidt Stays Hot, but Hops Come Up Short Against Emeralds

(June 10) Hillsboro, OR – The Hillsboro Hops returned to Hillsboro Ballpark on Tuesday night after two weeks on the road, dropping a 9–6 decision to the Eugene Emeralds in an offense-heavy contest. The loss puts Hillsboro in a three-way tie for first in the Northwest League standings with Vancouver and Everett. Ryan Waldschmidt homered for the third straight game, but it wasn’t enough to lift the Hops over Eugene.

Daniel Nunez started the first with a strikeout, making a promising start to the inning, but did not follow suit. Jonah Cox laid down a bunt to reach first, then stole second. Bo Davidson followed with an RBI single, and a wild pitch moved him into scoring position. After issuing a walk, Nunez gave up another RBI single to Justin Wishkoski, putting Eugene up 2–0. Drew Cavanaugh’s single loaded the bases, and Zane Zielinski reached on a fielder’s choice, bringing in another run. Nunez settled down just in time to get the next two batters and end a tough first inning.

Ryan Waldschmidt hit a solo home run in the bottom of the frame to cut into the Emeralds lead, 3-1.

Jonah Cox struck again in the second, this time hitting a triple to center field. A sacrifice fly brought him in to extend the Emerald's lead 4-1.

The Hops continued to chip away in the bottom of the second. Druw Jones singled, and Jean Walters followed with an RBI double to cut the deficit to 4–2.

Slade Caldwell got in on the action in the third, singling to center for his first hit as a Hop. He showed off his speed by stealing second and advancing to third on a Waldschmidt single. Ben McLaughlin grounded out to score Caldwell, making it 4–3. Kenny Castillo then tied the game with a double to left, capping off the comeback at 4–4.

Eugene regained their lead in the seventh when Charlie Szykowny hit a two-run homer off of Eli Saul to make it 6-4. Joangel Gonzalez entered the game with the bases loaded, allowing a hit to Bo Davidson to score two runners.

Down 8–4, Cristofer Torin drew a walk and came around to score when Slade Caldwell singled and a fielding error by Eugene left fielder Scott Bandura gave him enough time to cross the plate. With the bases loaded, Kenny Castillo hit a single to score two, making it 8-6.

After allowing a single and two walks to load the bases, Hops pitcher Edgar Isea hit a batter to drive in a run for Eugene. Isea struck out the next two batters to keep it 9-6. Marques Johnson closed the door on Hillsboro, getting credit for the save and only allowing one hit in 2.2 innings.

Five Hops pitchers combined to allow nine earned runs, seven walks, 14 hits, and struck out 11. Victor Morales and Joangel Gonzalez had scoreless appearances.

For Eugene four pitchers struck out a combined seven batters and allowed six earned runs on nine hits. Reliever C.J. Widger earned the win.

Caldwell, Walschmidt, and Castillo all collected two hits a piece. For the Emeralds, every player in their lineup collected at least one hit.

The Hops and Emeralds continue their series on Wednesday at Hillsboro Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM, with the pre-game show beginning at 6:20 on Rip City Radio 620 AM.