Kilen Em, But Not Softly

EUGENE, Ore. -- Is there a hotter hitter in professional baseball right now than San Francisco Giants' first round pick Gavin Kilen?

One day after torching Hillsboro in one of the best debuts in Northwest League history, the second-year shortstop from the University of Tennessee reached base five times, including a pair of doubles in a 10-4 Eugene victory over the Hops (0-2) to give S.F.'s Northwest League affiliate a 2-0 start to the 2026 season.

No six-run comeback necessary on this night as the home team led throughout, blowing the game open with a five-run fourth inning. Once again, the majority of the damage came off the Hillsboro bullpen.

Leading 1-0 in the fourth inning, Eugene first baseman Robert Hipwell drew a leadoff walk from Hops starting pitcher John West (0-1). Turning to lefthander Nate Savino to face a lineup with five lefthanded batters, the former 3rd-rounder from Virginia promptly gave up an RBI triple to Walker Martin, the first of three extra base hits in the inning. After a sacrifice fly and a one-out double from Zander Darby, Kilen walked to set the table for Dakota Jordan, who blasted a three-run homer to center to put the Emeralds up 6-0.

A 6-0 lead in the fourth inning sounds familiar, but the Hops would not mimic Eugene's comeback from the previous night. Trent Youngblood socked a solo homer to right center field in the sixth, one of two hits on the night from the former Division III standout from Transylvania University in Kentucky.

But Eugene one-upped him, with Darby taking advantage of a two-out throwing error by third baseman Yassel Soler in the seventh to smash a two-run dinger to right center off former Duck Logan Mercado, making his first professional appearance at his former college home field at P.K. Park.

The Ems parlayed two doubles and a wild pitch into two more runs off Mercado in the eighth before the Hops took advantage of Liam Simon's wildness to score three in the ninth before Simon fanned Soler to wrap up the victory.

Kilen will head into the series finale Sunday afternoon riding a streak of eight consecutive productive plate appearances. The native of Milton, Wisconsin--fondly remembered by gray-haired Northwest sports fans as the location of the now defunct tiny NAIA college where former Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg played--went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and two bases on balls, scoring two runs. Kilen had a pair of homers and an RBI ground out in his final three trips to the plate in Friday's opener, which ended on his walk-off two-run homer.

As good as Kilen was, the combination of Zane Zielinski and Zander Darby have made the nine-hole a black hole for Hops pitching. One night after Zielinski's three-hit game, Darby went 4-for-4 with a double, homer, three runs scored and two RBI.

Austin Strickland (1-0) was credited with the victory, following up a strong start by another Division III product Hunter Dryden. The former Whitworh Pirate fanned six with one walk and two singles allowed over four scoreless frames. Strickland struck out four over two scoreless innings, retiring six in a row after a leadoff Yerald Nin infield hit in the seventh.

Highlights were harder to find for the Hops on this night. Their top prospect, 19-year-old Slade Caldwell picked up his first two hits of the year, including a two-run single in the 9th. Nin reached base twice for the second consecutive night.

The Hops will look to right the ship Sunday at 1:05 when former Clemson two-way standout Caden Grice takes the hill. Eugene will send 22-year-old left Luis De La Torre to the mound, MLB Pipleline's #17 Giants prospect, the top-rated hurler on their roster.

Pregame airtime is at 12:50 p.m. on Rip City Radio 620 AM.