Bandura & Zielinski Combine for 7 RBI's as Ems Take Game 1 against Hops
NWL Eugene Emeralds

Bandura & Zielinski Combine for 7 RBI's as Ems Take Game 1 against Hops

Published on May 7, 2025 under Northwest League (NWL)
Eugene Emeralds News Release


HILLSBORO, OR - The Emeralds won a thrilling game against the Hillsboro Hops by a final score of 9-7. It was a thrilling back and forth game but the Ems were able to hang on.

Eugene wasted no time in tonight's game to get on the scoreboard. Bo Davidson reached via error on the first pitch of the game and both Jonah Cox as well as James Tibbs were able to reach base on a walk. After a quick couple of outs, Scott Bandura blasted a grand slam over the right center field wall to give the Ems a 4-0 lead. Bandura has been heating up at the plate as that was his 2nd home run in the past week. It was also the Ems first grand slam of the 2025 season.

The Hops would respond quickly. They pushed home 3 runs on 2 base hits to cut the lead to just 1 run. They took the lead in the 2nd inning after Jackson Feltner singled and Ben McLaughlin launched a 2-run home run to give the Hops a 5-4 lead through 2 innings.

In the top of the 4th Eugene was able to tie up the ballgame. Zane Zielinski started off the inning with a single and stole 2nd base. With 1-out, Cole Foster ripped a shot to center field to bring home Zielinski and tie up the game at 5-5.

In the top of the 4th the Emeralds reclaimed the lead. James Tibbs III & Charlie Szykowny started off the inning with a walk. Scott Bandura singled to load up the bases for Zane Zielinksi. He wasted little time as he shot a ground ball out to right field to score a pair of runs. Bandura eventually came home to score on a wild pitch to give Eugene an 8-5 lead through 5 innings.

The Hops scored in the 6th inning with a sac-fly RBIto cut the lead to 2 runs. The Ems immediately answered back as Zane Zielinski collected his 3rd hit and 3rd RBI of the night with a hit out to right field to score Scott Bandura and give Eugene a 9-6 lead.

The Hops scored a run in the bottom of the 7th to make it just a 2-run lead for the Ems.

Nick Herold came into the ballgame and pitched the final 1.1 innings on the mound. He got into a bit of trouble in the 8th after Ryan Waldschmidt was the go-ahead run for the Hops. He tagged a baseball to left center field but Jonah Cox made an incredible snag while spinning around to keep the Hops scoreless.

Herold gave up a hit in the 9th but got out of it quickly with a ground ball to give the Ems a 9-7 victory. Herold is now 2-2 on save opportunities for the Ems. Ryan Vanderhei also picked up his 1st win of the 2025 season.

Eugene will be back in action tomorrow night. First pitch is set for 6:05 PM. The Northwest League pitcher of the month in April, Shane Rademacher, will get the starting nod.

The Eugene Emeralds are the High-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants. The Eugene Emeralds are dedicated to providing the best in family entertainment and creating a fun, safe environment for everyone to enjoy watching a baseball game. For more information, please visit our website at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or call the Emeralds front office at 541-342-5367.

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Northwest League Stories from May 7, 2025


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