Emeralds Rout Hillsboro in a 14 Run Shutout Victory
The Eugene Emeralds played a near flawless game of baseball as they defeated the Hillsboro Hops by a final score of 14-0. The Emeralds won their 60th game of the season and move to 26-25 in the 2nd half. It was a scoreless first two frames as both pitchers settled
The Eugene Emeralds played a near flawless game of baseball as they defeated the Hillsboro Hops by a final score of 14-0. The Emeralds won their 60th game of the season and move to 26-25 in the 2nd half.
It was a scoreless first two frames as both pitchers settled in nicely to start the game. This would all change after the 3rd inning. In the top of the 3rd the Emeralds scored the first two runs of the game. Tanner O’Tremba was making his Emeralds debut and on the first pitch he saw he ripped a shot out to right-center field and hustled all the way into 3rd base for a triple. The next batter Thomas Gavello drew a walk to put a pair of runners on the corners with nobody out. Damon Dues ripped a shot to right field for a single and O’Tremba came home to score on the play. The next two batters were retired and with two outs Aeverson Arteaga crushed a single to the outfield that scored Gavello on the play and gave Eugene the 2-0 lead after the first 3 innings.
In the top of the 4th inning the Emeralds were able to add another run. After a quick out to start to the inning, Zach Morgan crushed his 2nd home run of the season out to left field. Morgan has been excellent at the plate with his batting average now sitting at .345 this year with the Emeralds. Eugene would really open up the scoring in the top of the 4th inning. Damon Dues started the inning off with a single and Grant McCray followed it up to put two runners on with nobody out. Carter Howell then ripped a double to center field and Dues scored on the play. Aeverson Arteaga then drove in both Dues and McCray on the play for his 3rd RBI of the evening. Luis Toribio then doubled and scored Arteaga on the play to give Eugene the 7-0 lead after 4 innings.
It wouldn’t stop there as the Emeralds scored four more runs in the top of the 6th inning. It was an absolutely crazy inning, as the Emeralds had 10 batters come to the plate yet they recorded just 1 official base hit. The inning started with a groundout before Damon Dues was able to draw a walk. Grant McCray hit a laser out to right field but the Hops fielder wasn’t able to make the play and he dropped the ball for an error. The next batter Carter Howell struck out on the play. With Aeverson Arteaga up to bat, Damon Dues was dancing down the line at 3rd. After a couple of pitches into the at-bat Dues took off to home and was successfully able to steal home for the first run of the inning. It was an incredible moment and the Emeralds dugout was fired up for him.
The runs wouldn’t stop there however as Arteaga proceeded to also reach base on an error. Grant McCray came home to score on the play. The next batter Luis Toribio then drew a walk. The lone base hit of the inning came when Andrew Kachel drove a ball to deep right center field for a ground rule double and Arteaga got to score on the play and Toribio advanced into 3rd base. A passed ball got behind the Hops catcher and Toribio came home to score on the play for the 4th run of the inning.
The Emeralds would add another run in the 7th inning and a run in the 8th inning. In the 7th inning McCray doubled to the outfield and the next batter Carter Howell drove him in on an RBI-Single. In the 8th inning Zach Morgan started off the inning with a base hit. Thomas Gavello then recorded a single and Morgan scored on the play. Gavello then was able to reach 3rd base and Damon Dues hit a sac-fly out to center field to score Gavello on the play and give Eugene their 14th and final run of the night.
It was a perfect night for the Emeralds at the plate, as the 14 runs they scored in tonight’s ballgame was the most runs they’ve scored in a game all season long. Every single batter got a base hit with 7 of the 9 Emeralds recording a multi-hit game. Eugene was 6-13 with runners in scoring position and scored at least a run in 6 consecutive innings spanning from the 3rd inning all the way to the 8th inning. The crazy part is the Emeralds hit just one home run, and it was a solo home run yet they managed to score the most runs of the season. They were patient at the plate and it paid off in a big way tonight.
While the offense definitely stole the show at times, the pitching staff was downright dominant all night long. Trevor McDonald got the start and he was absolutely shoving on the mound. He pitched 5 innings and gave up just 2 hits and didn’t walk a single batter. He also struck out 5 en-route to his 3rd victory of the season. His ERA now sits at a ridiculous 0.38 this year. Cam Cotter pitched the 6th and 7th inning and allowed just 1 hit and 1 walk. Ljay Newsome pitched a scoreless 8th inning. In the 9th inning the Emeralds turned to the trusted arm of Thomas Gavello who had been playing 3rd base for the first 8 innings. After giving up two singles with 1-out, Junior Franco hit into a double-play to end the ballgame.
The Emeralds handed their instate rival their biggest shutout loss in Hops team history. It was an all-around performance tonight as every single player in tonight’s game had a fantastic showing. They now have a 2-1 series lead over the Hops and they’ll look to win their 3rd straight game tomorrow night. Seth Lonsway is on the mound for the Emeralds with first pitch at 7:05 P.M.