Ems Stay Perfect in Series Openers with Win against Hillsboro
NWL Eugene Emeralds

Ems Stay Perfect in Series Openers with Win against Hillsboro

Published on May 20, 2026 under Northwest League (NWL)
Eugene Emeralds News Release


EUGENE, OR - The Emeralds were able to defeat the Hillsboro Hops by a final score of 2-1 in the series opener. Eugene is now 31-9 on the season and a perfect 8-0 in series openers this season. They are 9-1 against Hillsboro with the victory today.

The Hops were able to get the scoring started in the top of the fourth inning after both starters worked a quick and efficient first three frames. In the fourth, Slade Caldwell led it off with a single. After a quick popout, Yassel Soler was able to reach on a fielder's choice. Walker Martin tried turning two but the throw was too high to Zander Darby who leapt in the air to field it cleanly and couldn't get his foot down in time to find the out. The next Hops batter, Trent Youngblood, ripped a 101.1 mph single up the middle to give the Hops a 1-0 lead after 4 innings.

Rio Britton was dominant today on the mound for Hillsboro as he spun six scoreless frames while allowing just three hits. In the bottom of the seventh inning they turned to Sandro Santana out of the bullpen. The Ems had been in this spot against Hillsboro multiple times this season, and they were able to find some big innings as soon as the keys were handed off to the bullpen. Well, history repeated itself once again as the Ems were able to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Zander Darby led off the inning with a walk before Jakob Christian singled. The next batter, Jean Carlos Sio, ripped a single over the head of the first base man Modeifi Marte to tie up the game at 1-1.

The inning didn't stop there for Eugene. After a quick popout, Walker Martin smoked a ball to the Hops 2nd baseman Wallace Clark who fired it home and got Christian out at the plate to prevent a run. Onil Perez wasted little time and hit a slow rolling groundball through the right side of the infield to bring home Sio which gave the Ems the 2-1 lead.

Niko Mazza took over the Ems starter Tyler Switalski in the fifth inning and pitched the final 4.1 innings on the mound. He allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out four batters and not allowing a single earned run en-route to his second win of the season on the mound. Mazza has now thrown 25 consecutive scoreless innings on the mound for Eugene while striking out 31 batters and allowing just 9 hits during that stretch. It's been an incredible stretch for Mazza as he has done it as a starter and as a bullpen arm.

With another series opening victory in hand for Eugene, they'll now turn their attention to tomorrow night's game against the Hops. Luis De La Torre will be on the mound for the 31-9 Ems with first pitch set for 6:35 PM. Eugene will take either a 9 or 10 game lead in the first half pending the results of the other games in the Northwest League tonight. There are now just 26 games remaining in the half.

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 20, 2026


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