NWL1 Eugene Emeralds

Early-Inning Woes Plague Ems Once More

June 29, 2019 - Northwest League (NWL1)
Eugene Emeralds News Release


Another early deficit eventually led to the Eugene Emeralds' (7-8) demise, this time in a 6-2 defeat to the Hillsboro Hops (9-6) in front of 3,936 at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro.

Yunior Perez got off to a rough start in the very first inning, struggling to put away hitters once he reached two strikes in a count. Perez walked Steven Leyton to begin the inning before Eddie Hernandez dropped a single into right field. After another walk issued to Andy Yerzy, Kristian Robinson drove a ball to straightaway center, scoring Leyton on a sacrifice fly and advancing the other two runners as well.

Jorge Barrosa then lined a shot into right field, scoring both Hernandez and Yerzy, giving the Hops a commanding 3-0 lead in the first.

Yunior Perez would last just 0.2 innings before being lifted for Maikel Aguiar. Perez finished with three walks issued and two hits surrendered in his shortest outing of the season.

Aguiar then ran into some trouble himself in the third inning. With one out, Jorge Barrosa singled to right field. Then, during the next at-bat, Aguiar attempted to pick off Barrosa with a simple throw to first base, but his throw glanced off the glove of Rafael Mejia, dribbling up the right field line, allowing Barrosa to scoot all the way to third. After a walk to Jesus Marriaga, Lyle Lin belted a shot right back up the middle into center field, scoring Barrosa to give theHops a 5-0 advantage. Daniel Wasinger would finish off the inning with a sacrifice fly to right field, giving the Hops a formidable 5-0 lead.

The Ems got on the board in the fourth inning off of starter Deyni Olivero, thanks to a a two-out RBI single from Jake Slaughter. They would get one more run off Olivero in the sixth when an RBI groundout from Yonathan Perlaza would score Fernando Kelli. Olivero finished his night with 5.2 innings pitched while allowing just two runs.

After the Hops added a run in the eighth, the Emeralds made the finish rather interesting in the ninth despite being down 6-2 to start. Jake Polancic came out of the bullpen for Hillsboro, but he would fail to record an out. Polancic gave up a double to Yonathan Perlaza leading off the frame before walking Slaughter and Caleb Knight on eight straight pitched. Polancic would then be lifted for Jose Cuas.

Next, a rather scare situation occurred that silenced the crowd. On an 0-2 pitch, Jonathan Soto drilled a hard chopper up the middle of the infield. Steven Leyton fielded the ball to his left, stepping on second base for the force out. As he attempted to throw to first, Leyton collided awkwardly and violently with Knight as he slid into the base. Umpires ruled that Knight had interfered with Leyton, resulting in both he and Soto being called out, and forcing Perlaza and Slaughter back to third and second, respectively.

Knight and Leyton remained on the turf for a few minutes, with Knight especially looking dazed for more than a few tense moments. After a delay, Knight was able to walk off the field under his own power.

Luis Vazquez would then ground out to end the game afterwards, sealing a 6-2 victory for Hillsboro.

Jeremiah Estrada was one of the few bright spots for the Emeralds in the loss, as the right-hander fired 4.1 phenomenal innings, surrendering just one run on two hits while striking out four. He looked fully composed on the mound, working quickly and trusting all of his pitches.

The Ems will look to break a four-game losing streak in Game Two on Saturday night, a 7:05pm PST start at Ron Tonkin Field. You can listen live on the TuneIn app or on 95.3 FM The Score.

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Northwest League Stories from June 29, 2019


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