Hillsboro Erases Early Deficit in 7-5 Win Over Eugene
June 15, 2025 - Northwest League (NWL)
Hillsboro Hops News Release
(Hillsboro, OR)- The Hillsboro Hops completed a thrilling comeback win over the Eugene Emeralds on Saturday night at Hillsboro Ballpark. Trailing by five runs early in the game, the Hops rallied to score seven unanswered runs and secured the 7-5 victory.
After throwing a clean first inning, Lorenzo Encarnacion struggled in the second and could not make it out. He began by hitting Zan Zielinksi with a pitch and then struck out the next batter. A walk to Quinn McDaniel put two runners on, and while Encarnacion struck out the fourth batter of the inning, the trouble didn't end there.
With two outs, Scott Bandura ripped a triple to drive in two runs. Jonah Cox followed up with a triple of his own to score Bandura, and Bo Davidson singled to score Cox. A wild pitch allowed Davidson to move to third, setting up James Tibbs III, who hit a ground-rule double to score Davidson and make it 5-0, effectively knocking Encarnacion out of the game. Victor Morales entered in relief and struck out the first batter he faced to end the painful inning.
Encarnacion pitched 1.2 innings and gave up six hits, five earned runs, one walk and struck out two.
The Hops got on the board in the bottom half of the frame. Ryan Waldschmidt and Ben McLaughlin each singled and advanced on a pop-out, setting the stage for Kenny Castillo, who brought in a run with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-1.
The offensive rally continued into the fourth, as Ben McLaughlin drew a walk to start the inning. Jackson Feltner hit an RBI double to bring him, cutting into the Eugene lead 5-2. Castillo singled to move Feltner to third, and a fielder's choice by Jean Walters brought him home. Anderson Rojas added an RBI single to score Castillo, and a fielder's choice off the bat of Cristofer Torin tied the game at 5-5.
Morales provided a strong bridge out of the second inning on the mound, tossing 2.1 innings with two hits allowed and two strikeouts. Nate Savino took over in the fifth and kept Eugene off the board.
Eugene starter Cesar Perdomo pitched five innings, allowing six hits, five earned runs, two walks, and one strikeout. Tyler Vogel entered the game in the bottom of the sixth, giving up a leadoff walk to Walters. Rojas reached on a throwing error by the third basemen Dayson Croes, and Torin hit a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to scoring position. Druw Jones hit an RBI double to give the Hops their first lead of the game, 6-5. Slade Caldwell hit a sacrifice fly to score Torin and add another run on for Hillsboro, which would end up being all they needed to secure the win.
Vogel pitched 1.2 innings, giving up three hits, two unearned runs, and struck out two. Marques Johnson entered the game with two on and two outs in the bottom of the seventh. A wild pitch put both the runners in scoring position, and a walk loaded the bases. Torin flew out to end the Hop's threat that inning.
Savino was excellent in his outing, throwing three scoreless innings with just two hits allowed and three strikeouts. Eli Saul pitched a clean eighth, and Carlos Rey closed it out in the ninth, clinching the 7-5 win for Hillsboro.
Game six and the last of the series will be tomorrow afternoon at Hillsboro Ballpark. The first pitch is at 1:05 with the pregame show starting at 12:50 on Rip City Radio 620 AM.
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