The Hops earned a series split in their six-game series with Eugene this past week — but man, it could’ve been better.
Twice Hillsboro snatched defeat from the hands of victory, primarily based on a series of walks, errors, and/or simply blunders. As a result, a great week became a mediocre one and left the Hops (9-12) in third place in the league standings and six games behind first place Spokane.
Hillsboro will spend their second consecutive week on the road this week when they travel to Everett for a six-game series with the AquaSox, and will return home for a series with Spokane beginning on May 7, at Hillsboro Ballpark
Organizational News & Notes…Cole Percival and Alec Baker were both promoted to Amarillo this past week, while Juan Corniel, Kyle Amendt, Neyfy Castillo and Carlos Meza arrived in Hillsboro…2023 first round pick Tommy Troy was placed on the 7-day injured list due to a groin injury on April 26…The Hops are last in the league in hitting to this point (.203), while third in the league in team ERA (3.39) despite allowing nearly five walks per game…Gavin Conticello is fourth in the NWL in batting average (.338)… DeyvisonDe Los Santos has been raking in Double-A Amarillo, batting .395 with seven home runs in 20 games played…Former Hop Blaze Alexander is batting .322 with three home runs through 20 games with the Diamondbacks.
Below are summaries of last week’s action:
April 23 — Eugene 6, Hillsboro 2
Some records are better left unbroken, but with that said, the Hops broke one of those marks in a 6-2 loss to the Emeralds on Tuesday, April 23, at PK Park in Eugene.
Hillsboro pitchers walked seven Ems players in a six-run eighth inning, blowing a 2-0 lead en route to their second straight defeat.
Hops starting pitcher Billy Corcoran continued his dynamic work, allowing just two hits while striking out seven in six shutout innings. The 6-foot-8 righthander has allowed three earned runs while striking out 21 and walking just three in 15.2 innings pitched this season.
Unfortunately for Corcoran and the Hops (6-10), his relief against Eugene didn’t fare as well.
Peniel Otano and Junior Cerda didn’t allow a hit in their limited stint but did manage to walk seven in their combined 0.2 innings of work, setting a new Hops franchise record for walks in an inning. The mark was also the a 10-year-high in the Northwest League.
Hillsboro built a 2-0 lead with runs in both the first and fifth innings, the first coming on a Neyfy Castillo RBI single, and the second coming on a Castillo infield single to third base.
The game was the first for Castillo in a Hops uniform this season after joining the team after 14 games with Double-A Amarillo. The 23-year-old finished the night 2-for-3 with two RBI.
In all, the Hops out-hit Eugene 6-3.
April 24 — Hillsboro 3, Eugene
Jean Walters broke a 2-2 tie in the 10th inning with a single to centerfield to score Kevin Sim, leading the Hops to a 3-2 win over Ems on Wednesday, April 24, at PK Park in Eugene.
Walters and Andrew Pintar each finished with two hits in the game, combining to go 4-for-7 with an RBI and two runs-scored.
Hillsboro starting pitcher Spencer Giesting continued his wicked ways on the mound, allowing just a single hit while striking out five in six shutout innings. In three starts this season, the 22-year-old lefty has yet to allow an earned run and has allowed just eight hits while striking out 15 in 16 innings pitched.
The Hops made it 2-0 when they scored two runs in the eighth on a wild pitch and Jose Fernandez sacrifice fly.
Eugene tied it in the bottom half of that same inning when they scored on a Diego Velasquez RBI single, followed by a throwing error by Hillsboro catcher Christian Cerda on a pick-off attempt.
Ems starter Hayden Wynja was nearly Giesting’s equal over five innings, allowing just two hits while striking out four.
April 25 — Eugene 7, Hillsboro 6
For the second time in three nights the Hops lost in heartbreaking fashion, falling to the Ems 7-6 in 10 innings on Thursday, April 25, at PK Park in Eugene.
After Andrew Pintar gave Hillsboro a 6-3 lead with a three-run home run in the top of the 10th, The Ems managed four runs of their own thanks in part to a series of hits, along with a big Hops error, capped by Onil Perez’ walk-off single.
Hillsboro trailed 2-0 after two first-inning Eugene runs, but battled back to take a 3-2 lead after a run in the fourth, followed by two more in the sixth when Juan Corniel doubled in Pintar and Quinn McDaniel.
The Ems responded to tie the game in the eighth when Hops pitchers issued three consecutive free passes to Eugene hitters, starting with a hit-by-pitch, followed by consecutive walks, the last of which evened the score 3-3.
The Ems’ 10th inning went as follows: double, walk, error, sacrifice fly, single, and ultimately Perez’ game-winner.
Pintar finished 2-for-5 with a home run, triple, three RBI and two runs-scored.
April 26 — Hillsboro 5, Eugene 4
In what’s become a common theme, Hillsboro played another game decided by a single run, this time coming out on top in a 5-4 victory over Eugene on Friday night, April 26, at PK Park.
The win was the fifth of 10 Hops contests this season decided by one run.
Hillsboro’s Jose Fernandez provided what amounted to the game-winning hit when he singled home Gavin Conticello with two outs in the eighth inning.
Fernandez finished the game 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs-scored.
Hops pitcher Ricardo Yan was both great and not-so-much over 4.1 innings, allowing nary a hit, but at the same time walking seven to the tune of one earned run.
Reliever Carlos Meza was more “not-so-much” in his inning of relief, allowing three earned runs on three hits.
Jean Walters started the game at second base for Hillsboro, but pitched in relief and earned the save, allowing no runs or hits to close out the game.
Eugene starter Seth Lonsway dazzled for the home team, allowing just two hits over his five innings, but was done in by a series of Emerald miscues.
Hillsboro got three runs in the second inning and one in the seventh before getting Fernandez’ game-winner in the eighth.
April 27 — Eugene 9, Hillsboro 1
The Emeralds wasted little time jumping on the Hops in Game 5 of their six-game series, and parlayed that early lead into an easy win on Saturday evening, April 27, at PK Park in Eugene.
The Ems scored three runs in the first inning, three more in the third, two in the seventh, and a final one in the eighth, which was more than enough thanks to a combined pitching performance that held the visiting Hops to just five hits.
Eugene starting pitcher Dylan Cumming allowed just two hits while striking out six in four shutout innings, then turned it over to Nick Sinacola who pitched the final five innings, allowing a single earned run on five hits.
Offensively, the Ems had three players tally two hits apiece, in addition to Scott Bandura who went 1-for-3 with three RBI and two runs-scored.
Hillsboro starting pitcher Wyatt Wendell was touched up for three earned runs on six hits, taking the loss.
In one of the few Hops highlights, Andrew Pintar hit a home run in the eighth inning, his second of the year.
April 28 — Hillsboro 7, Eugene 5
Neyfy Castillo had a clutch two-RBI triple in the ninth to tie the game and send it to extra innings, where the Hops scored three runs in the 10th en route to a 7-5 win.
Castillo ended the game 3-for-4 with a home run, triple, three RBI and a run-scored
Joe Elbis started the game on the mound for Hillsboro, working around two Hops errors, allowing one earned run on just two hits in five innings of work.
The two Hillsboro errors were their 33rd and 34th of the season, which places them first in the Northwest League in that category.
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