Hillsboro Halts Eugene’s Super Streak

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then, or something like that. After downing their in-state rivals in ten consecutive contests, the Eugene Emeralds (33-18) found themselves on the wrong side of Friday night’s matchup with the Hillsboro Hops (20-30), falling by a final of 4-2 at Ron Tonkin Field.

THE DETAILS:

• Winning Pitcher: Ty Jones (1-0, 2.84 ERA): 1.1 IP | 0 H | 0 R | 0 ER | 1 BB | 0 K

• Losing Pitcher: Conner Nurse (1-4, 5.21 ERA): 4.1 IP | 5 H | 4 R | 4 ER | 3 BB | 4 K

• Save: Mailon Arroyo (1)

• HR(s): Eugene: N/A | Hillsboro: N/A

HOW IT HAPPENED: Both offenses were held at bay through the first two innings, but Eugene took the game’s first lead in the third – the fourth time in as many games this series that the Ems scored first – by plating a pair of runs thanks to a two-out rally.

After groundouts by Ismael Munguia and Brett Auerbach started the third, Will Wilson worked a walk and then Diego Rincones singled to put runners on the corners for Sean Roby. Following a quick mound visit with Hops pitching coach Shane Loux and Hops starter Slade Cecconi, Roby offered at the first pitch he saw and yanked it to left field, fooling Hops outfielder Leodany Perez who saw Roby’s liner leap up-and-over his head and trickle all the way to the left field wall to allow both Wilson and Rincones to score and give the Emeralds a 2-0 lead.

Eugene’s lead lasted only one inning, though, as Hillsboro tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. Dominic Canzone led off the inning by drawing a walk on a full count, stealing second base, and then advancing to third on a balk by Emeralds starting pitcher Conner Nurse. Nurse got Tristin English to strike out on the very next pitch following the balk, but after getting the next batter, Spencer Brickhouse, to a 2-2 count, Brickhouse singled on a soft blooper to left that scored Canzone and made it 2-1, Ems.

It became 2-2 one batter later when Blaze Alexander, who fell behind 0-2 in the count, doubled on a grounder down the third base line that snuck between the third base bag and the glove of a diving Sean Roby, rolling all the way to the left field corner to easily score Brickhouse from first and tie the game, 2-2.

One inning later, the Hops took their first lead of the series. For the second consecutive inning, Hillsboro led off their turn at the plate with a walk, this time drawn by Reece Hampton. Cam Coursey grounded out to the right side in the ensuing at-bat, but with Hampton taking off for second on the pitch, Emeralds second baseman Tyler Fitzgerald had no chance to turn what potentially would have been an easy 4-6-3 double play. Instead, Fitzgerald’s only play was to first, leaving Hampton on second with one out.

Jorge Barrosa cashed in in the next at-bat by doubling to right field to easily score the speedy Hampton and put the Hops in front for the very first time in the series, 3-2. Eugene then went to the bullpen and brought in right-hander John Timmins with one out and Barrosa on second, but Barrosa then immediately stole third and then came home to score soon thereafter on a ground out by Dom Canzone that made it 4-2, Hops.

Eugene couldn’t muster much over the next two innings, but some pre-July 4th fireworks were set off in the eighth inning.

Following back-to-back singles from former Louisville Cardinals Tyler Fitzgerald and Logan Wyatt, Franklin Labour popped out on a bunt attempt for the first out of the inning. That led Ems manager Dennis Pelfrey to go to his bench and call upon Armani Smith, who had belted three homers over the prior two games, to pinch hit for Tyler Flores. Smith went on to strike out on a check swing, but after turning around and heading to the dugout without seemingly much said or expressed, Smith was ejected from the game by home plate umpire Nathan Diederich. That led the usually reserved Pelfrey to engage with Diederich as well, ultimately resulting in him being ejected by the young umpire, too.

After the dust settled, Ismael Munguia came up with two runners still on base, but Munguia grounded out on the first pitch he saw to end the inning, and the Emeralds went quietly at the plate in the ninth to wrap the 4-2 victory for the Hops.

Catcher and utility man Brett Auerbach made his Emeralds debut on Friday night after being recently promoted from Low-A San Jose, going 0-for-4 with a walk. Meanwhile, Diego Rincones returned to the Emeralds lineup after another stint with the Venezuelan National Team for Olympic Qualifying and went 2-for-5 with a run.

PEAK PERFORMERS:

• Sean Roby – 3B: In a game that didn’t feature much in terms of standout performances, Roby was an exception by driving in both of Eugene’s runs while going 2-for-4 and exhibiting some solid defense at third.

• Logan Wyatt – DH: Wyatt became the first High-A West player to reach 40 walks by going 2-for-3 with a walk on Friday. Wyatt is currently tied with Adley Rutschman of the Bowie Baysox for ninth in all of Minor League Baseball in walks.

• The Bullpen: John Timmnis, Ryan Walker, and Travis Perry together combined to fire 3.2 innings with three strikeouts while allowing just one hit, no walks and no runs.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Eugene Emeralds and Hillsboro Hops face off again on Saturday at 7:05pm PST in Hillsboro.

You can listen live to all the action with Alex Stimson on the call via 95.3FM The Score, via MiLB.com or on the MiLB app.

Tickets to Emeralds home games are available at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or by calling (541) 342-5367.

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