Avery Short Extends Scoreless Streak to 16 Innings in Shutout Win

Hillsboro, OR (May 30, 2024) – It was day baseball at Hillsboro Ballpark on Thursday and for the second series in a row, the Hops have taken a 3-0 series lead. Last week, Hillsboro won the first three games of the series before dropping the final three against Vancouver. Avery Short followed up his Northwest League pitcher of the month honors with an eight-inning masterpiece, as the Hops won their third straight against Eugene 4-0.

Short was making his ninth start of the year for Hillsboro and carried just a 2.03 ERA into the contest. Short was dominant again over eight innings of work against the Em’s, including getting out of a bases loaded nobody out jam in the 3^rd, the only threat he faced in the game.

Will Bednar, a 2022 first-round draft pick by San Francisco made his 2024 Eugene Emeralds’ debut. He didn’t allow a run over two innings and struck out three.

After Short worked around trouble in the top of the third inning the Hops would put up four runs on four hits and two Eugene errors in the bottom. Walters, Martin, Hurley and Corniel had singles in the inning, with Corniel’s two-RBI single giving the Hops a 4-0 lead.

The Hops defense continued to make highlight reel plays as Jack Hurley made one of the best catches of the season slamming into the wall in dead center field and robbing Thomas Gavello of an RBI extra-base hit.

Short breezed through the Emeralds order and came back out for the ninth inning looking for the first Hops’ complete game since 2022. Hillsboro was holding onto a 4-0 lead and Short with 93 pitches entering the frame gave up a leadoff base hit to Andrew Kachel after a long battle, his third hit of the game and that would be the final batter Short faced. He got a standing ovation as he left the pitcher’s mound and now has pitched 16 consecutive innings without allowing a run. Short’s ERA dropped to 1.69 in the 4-0 win.

Zane Russell walked two batters in the ninth, but Eugene would leave them stranded on base to end the game. The shutout marked the first time in 2024 that Eugene had been held scoreless in a game.

Eugene left 10 runners on base and had eight hits in the game with only one extra-base hit, a double by Alex Suarez.

The Hops have won the first three games of the series and will meet the Emeralds again at Hillsboro Ballpark tomorrow night for game four of the series. First pitch is at 6:35 with the pregame show starting at 6:20 on Rip City Radio 620 and Portland’s CW.