Steinmetz Dazzles; Bullpen Frazzled

EUGENE, Ore. -- What more does Jacob Steinmetz have to do to get his first Hillsboro win?

The 6-7 hurler from Long Island was nothing short of brilliant Friday night, but the slim lead the Hops gave him dissipated quickly upon his departure. The Eugene Emeralds scored three runs in the seventh inning and their bullpen outclassed Hillsboro's for the third consecutive night in a 3-2 victory at P.K. Park.

Steinmetz tossed six shutout innings with a career-best ten strikeouts in his ninth Hillsboro start, but left the mound with just a 2-0 lead. In the seventh, the Northwest League's leader in blown saves, Zane Russell, could not hold the fort. With runners at first and third and two outs, Jonah Cox smashed an opposite field triple off the top of the right field wall, plating Quinn McDaniel and Luke Shliger to even the score. Leadoff batter Scott Bandura, who fanned three times against Steinmetz, bounced a 1-2 Russell offering up the middle into center field to plate Cox with the winning run.

With just two saves in eight opportunities this season, Russell saw his season earned run average balloon to 6.61 after giving up three hits and a walk in the deciding frame. But to pin all of the blame on the bullpen for this latest gutwrenching defeat would be misguided.

The Hops are 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position over three consecutive defeats and had multiple opportunities to provide Steinmetz with the cushion he needed to pick up that elusive first win. Once again, Jonah Cox factors into this equation. After Tommy Troy doubled with one in the first inning, Gavin Conticello followed with a base hit up the middle. The Eugene center fielder threw a one hop strike to Luke Shliger at the plate to nail Troy and the Hops went scoreless in the first inning.

After Junior Franco put Hillsboro on the board in the second inning with a two-run homer to right off Eugene starting pitcher Dylan Carmouche, Manny Pena led off the second inning with a base hit. After two Carmouche pickoff throws to first before delivering a pitch to Troy, Pena made a break for second two pitches later, but was gunned down by Shliger.

Carmouche exited after five innings and the Hops immediately put reliever Austin Strickland on the ropes after Troy beat out an infield hit and raced to third on Conticello's hit-and-run single to right. With runners at the corners and nobody out with the cleanup hitter Gino Groover at the plate, the Hops were primed to give their talented young pitcher a commanding lead. But it was not to be. Conticello was caught stealing with Troy unable to advance. Groover struck out and Hops' RBI leader Jack Hurley flied out harmlessly to left.

Meanwhile, Steinmetz was dazzling, facing the minimum number of batters through four innings, fanning the top third of the Eugene order in order in the fourth. In the fifth, Charlie Szykowny became Eugene's second baserunner of the game on a Steinmetz throwing error. But with Szykowny at second following a stolen base, back-to-back K's of McDaniel and Shliger got him out of the inning.

After the Hops rally fizzled in the sixth, Thomas Gavello opened Eugene's half of the inning with bloop single to center that glanced off Hurley's glove as the center fielder tried to make a sliding catch. Cox followed with a perfect bunt single up the third base line then stole second. WIth runners at second and third and none down, Steinmetz again stared down the top of the Eugene order, painting the black on the outside corner to fan Bandura, then getting Giants' number 15-ranted prospect Aeverson Arteaga to whiff at a slider. After an intentional walk to top Giants prospect Bryce Eldridge, former Oregon Duck third baseman Sabin Ceballos grounded out to third to end the threat.

Steinmetz completed six innings, allowing three singles and no runs with ten K's and just the one intentional base on balls.

But a one-out walk to McDaniel opened the door to Eugene's winning rally. Shliger followed with a sharp single up the middle. With two down, Cox and Bandura delivered their two-out lightning and the Eugene pen took care of the rest.

The Hops put two aboard off Tyler Vogel in the eighth, but two hard hit balls by Troy and Groover ended up in Bandura's glove in left. Hunter Dula set the Hops down in order in the ninth for his third save.

Strickland allowed two hits over two scoreless frames to earn the win. Cox and Shliger each had two of the Emeralds six hits. Gavin Conticello paced the Hops with three singles, but saw his five-game extra-base hit streak end, one double and one triple away from becoming the Hops all-time leader in two-and three-baggers. Tommy Troy matched Conticello's current hit streak with a pair of hits, equalling a career-best six-game streak.

The Hops and Emeralds close out the series with a pair of 5:05 p.m. games Saturday and Sunday. Pregame airtime is at 4:50 p.m. on RIp City Radio 620 AM.