The Eugene Emeralds dropped their third straight on Wednesday, losing a back-and-forth match between the Hillsboro Hops 10-6 at Ron Tonkin Field. It was the second straight defeat to open the Emeralds’ road trip.
The Emeralds struck immediately in the top of the first. Tyler Fitzgerald led off the game with a double, and, after Marco Luciano struck out on a full count, Armani Smith pummeled a two-run homer to send Eugene out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Luciano worked another full count in the second inning and, this time, wound up drawing a two-out walk. Smith worked a full-count walk of his own, but Sean Roby flew out to end the inning.
Eugene starter Aaron Phillips pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings before surrendering a solo homer in the third. The Hops threatened for more with a double and a walk, but Phillips recorded a strikeout to get out of the jam.
Phillips got the first two outs in the bottom of the fourth, but then he imploded. He gave up another solo homer to tie it, walked the next batter on four pitches, then gave up his third homer of the night — a two-run shot that gave Hillsboro a 4-2 lead.
The Emeralds responded with a run in the fifth. Heath Quinn led off the inning with a double, and Luciano came through with two outs by hitting his first triple for the Emeralds.
Phillips gave up a single to the first batter in the bottom of the fifth and was pulled right there. Travis Perry replaced him and allowed another single. A run then came home on an error by Luciano, and a walk loaded the bases with still no outs.
Perry induced a double play, allowing another run to come home, but limiting the damage. The Emeralds trailed 6-3 after five innings.
Roby hit his 13th homer of the season in the top of the sixth, a solo shot to keep Eugene in the game. The Emeralds continued to chip away in the seventh, as Carter Aldrete led off the inning with a double and eventually came around on a sacrifice fly by Luciano.
But the progress was halted when Perry gave up a double and a run-scoring single in the bottom of the seventh. Austin Reich came in for him and allowed an inherited runner to score on another single, extending the Emeralds’ deficit back to three runs.
Quinn hit a two-out RBI single in the eighth to get the Emeralds back within two runs. But Reich gave up three singles and a walk, leading to two more Hillsboro runs. Reich’s ERA with the Emeralds shot up above two for the first time all season.
Fitzgerald led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, and Roby walked, but the Emeralds couldn’t ignite a miraculous comeback. They ultimately fell 10-6 and now trail the Hops 2-0 in the series.
They’ll look to get back in the win column on Thursday, with first pitch at 7:05 p.m.
