The Eugene Emeralds dropped the second of a three game series against the Hillsboro Hops in a 10-2 loss on Sunday night at PK Park.
It was also Purple Rain night at the ballpark. The Emeralds wore customized purple jerseys, and Prince songs filled the time between innings.
Starting pitcher Pedro Silverio had 7 strikeouts, but also gave up four hits and four walks, which had a role in the Emeralds immediately falling behind the Hops 2-1 in the first inning.
The Hops scored two more runs in the fifth, with a single by Manny Jefferson and a 2-run home run by Josh Anderson. At this point, a win was still not too far from reach for the Emeralds with a score of 4-2.
It all went downhill in the top of the ninth when the Emeralds were attempting to rally. The Hops went through their entire lineup and scored six runs with only two hits. The rest of the Hops’ success was due to walks, wild throws, and errors by the Emeralds.
Emeralds reliever Scott Frazier began the inning, but was pulled after surrendering two straight walks to start the inning.
M.T. Minacci was brought in to replace Frazier, and immediately threw a pitch that forced a ground ball, but a wild throw to first by Yeiler Peguero turned what should have been a double play into two bases for Luis Veras.
After that, the Hops loaded the bases twice from a combination of one walk, two wild pitches, two hits and a fielder’s choice to hold the ball after a short hit.
The Hops finished with eight RBI by five different players, and seven hits by five different players.
The Emeralds had three-up, three-down in the bottom of the ninth, with little to no momentum left.
“We definitely need to minimize the walks in the first inning and just capitalize,” Emeralds pitcher Bryan Hudson said. “We have to get runners on base, and we have to get those guys in.”
The Emeralds will be seeking to redeem themselves Monday night against the Hops at 7:05pm at PK Park.
Follow Alexa Chedid on Twitter @alexachedid18