Hops Lose Sixth Straight to Eugene

Hillsboro, OR (April 23, 2026) - The Eugene Emeralds extended their recent success over the Hillsboro Hops in the only mid-week day contest of the season on STEM day at Hops Ballpark, earning their sixth consecutive win in the head-to-head matchup and winning their third consecutive game this week, 3-1. The Hops left 12 runners on base and had their offensive chances, including having the bases loaded with none out in the seventh, but couldn’t score.

Wellington Aracena made his third start of the season and he was solid once again for the Hops. He kept Eugene off the board through four shutout innings and left in a scoreless game. Adonys Perez was effective again out of the bullpen keeping the Ems scoreless over 2.1 innings.

The Hops took a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning on a Slade Caldwell walk, stolen base and sacrifice fly from Trent Youngblood, but that wouldn’t hold for long.

However, the Emeralds broke through in the top of the eighth against Dawson Brown with three straight RBI hits from the middle of the order. Gavin Kilen ignited the rally with an RBI double, followed by another run-scoring double from Dakota Jordan. Carlos Gutierrez capped the inning with an RBI single, giving Eugene a three-run cushion they would not relinquish.

Hillsboro threatened in the middle innings, placing multiple runners on base in both the sixth and seventh, but were unable to capitalize with a key hit. Eugene’s pitching staff responded with timely strikeouts from Austin Strickland and Ryan Vanderhei to secure the win.

In the ninth, Hillsboro went quietly, as the Emeralds closed out the shutout victory to secure the win. Just 18 games into the 2026 season, Eugene is 10 games over .500 at 14-4, good for first place in the Northwest League.

Game four of the series will be tomorrow night, with Tommy Henry getting the ball in an MLB rehab start for the Hops. Fireworks to follow the game, 6:35 first pitch with a 6:20 airtime on Rip City Radio 620 AM and Bally Sports Live.