Hops' Nine-Game Road Win Streak Ends in Eugene

Hops lose 11-2, are just 2-6 against Ems this year

By Rich Burk

July 30, 2017

EUGENE, ORE. --- The Eugene Emeralds scored five times off an ineffective Tyler Keele on Saturday night at P.K. Park in Eugene, and then five more times off reliever Yeison Santana to build a 10-2 lead after three innings. They cruised to an 11-2 win in the second game of the three-game series.
Eugene (3-3 second half, 24-20 overall) is now one game behind first-place Hillsboro (4-2 second half, 26-18 overall) in the South Division second-half race.

Eugene third baseman Austin Filiere clubbed a two-run home run off Keele in the first inning, and Aramis Ademan added a pair of two-run doubles in the second and third innings to highlight Eugene's 12-hit attack.
Keele --- a Northwest League All-Star --- faced 12 hitters, recording just four outs and giving up five runs, all earned. It is the second consecutive start in which he has been hit hard.
Hillsboro trailed 5-0 entering the top of the third inning. They loaded the bases with none out, but scored just two --- one on a double-play grounder, and another on a wild pitch. Other than that inning, Eugene starter Javier Assad --- pitching on the day before his 20th birthday --- was outstanding. He allowed just two hits and two runs, with three walks and nine strikeouts, in six innings.
Ryan Dobson, the Arizona Diamondbacks' 30th-round draft choice this year out of Fresno State, made his Hops debut after beginning his career in the Arizona League. He served as the DH and hit eighth, going 2-for-3, which accounted for half of the Hops' hits.
Catcher Daulton Varsho singled in the seventh inning, extending his hitting streak to 12 games. That matches Yan Sanchez's season-opening 12-game streak as the longest for a Hop in 2017.
All nine players in the Eugene lineup had at least one run scored.
The series concludes on Sunday afternoon at 1:05, with the radio pregame show on Rip City Radio 620 AM beginning at 12:35. That will be the final game prior to the All-Star break. The Northwest League-Pioneer League All-Star Game is at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro on Tuesday at 7:05 PM.