Ems Win Thriller After Trading Runs with Hillsboro to Secure 8th Consecutive Series Victory
NWL Eugene Emeralds

Ems Win Thriller After Trading Runs with Hillsboro to Secure 8th Consecutive Series Victory

Published on May 23, 2026 under Northwest League (NWL)
Eugene Emeralds News Release


EUGENE, OR - Eugene was able to defeat the Hillsboro Hops by a final score of 9-8 to secure their 8th consecutive series victory. It was a game that featured a little bit of everything as the two teams traded runs throughout the first seven innings of the game. The Ems are now 34-10 on the season and 4-1 this week against the Hops.

Hillsboro was able to strike first for the fourth time this week with a run in the top of the first inning. After a quick couple of outs, Brady Counsell hit a double to put a runner in scoring position. Yassel Soler brought him home with a single to give the Hops a 1-0 lead. They added another pair of runs in the second inning. Kenny Castillo hit a leadoff single before Yerald Nin hit a triple with two outs to extend the lead. Wallace Clark added on with a single that brought home Nin to make it 3-0 in favor of the Hops.

That sent us to the bottom of the second inning for the Ems. Carlos Gutierrez led it off with a single before Jean Carlos Sio singled to put two runners on before Walker Martin drew a walk to load up the bases with just one out. Lisbel Diaz fell behind in the count before hitting one to left center field towards the wall. Hops centerfielder Yerald Nin leapt into the air to try and make a catch but the ball hit off his glove and bounced over the wall for the grand slam to give the Ems a 4-3 lead.

The Hops responded with three runs in the top of the third to reclaim the lead after getting RBI's from three different hitters. That sent us to the bottom of the third with the Ems trailing by two runs. Gavin Kilen led off the inning with a single before Jean Carlos Sio hit a single. Kilen went first to third on the play and the throw hit the Hops third base man Soler who tried to throw the ball to second base with Sio trying to reach second safely. The throw was errant which allowed Kilen to score and it moved Sio into third. The next batter, Jakob Christian, struck out but it was a dropped third strike and the catcher couldn't throw it to first on line so it rolled to right field which brought Sio home to make it 6-6 after just three innings.

Hillsboro got the lead back with a run in the fourth inning. Brady Counsell hit a one out single that brought home Wallace Clark on the play. Eugene tied it up in the bottom of the fifth inning. Carlos Gutierrez started it off with a single and swiped second base. That brought up Christian again who grounded the ball to third base but Soler airmailed the throw which brought Gutierrez home and tied things up at 7-7.

Both teams scored a run in the 6th to tie the game up at 8-8. Soler hit a bases-loaded RBI to give the Hops the temporary lead. In the home half of the inning it was consecutive two out singles from Kilen and Jancel Villarroel which put runners on the corners. John West was on the mound for the Hops and he ended up committing a balk that allowed Kilen to score to tie up the game.

The game winning hit and run belonged to none other than Lisbel Diaz who ended his night with a season-high five RBI's. After a quick couple of outs, Walker Martin hit a double and Diaz hit a double of his own to give the Ems a 9-8 lead.

Liam Simon took over in the 8th and pitched the final two innings en-route to his third save of the season. Simon had now pitched 12 straight scoreless innings spanning his last nine outings with a grand total of 21 strikeouts to only three hits. It's been so incredible seeing this stretch from Simon as he had been the best reliever in the Northwest League over the last month.

Eugene will now turn their attention to the series finale tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:05 PM with Tyler Switalski on the mound as the Ems look to extend their lead in the Northwest League as the magic number continues to get smaller and smaller.

#RootedHere

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Northwest League Stories from May 23, 2026


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