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NWL Eugene Emeralds

Las Monarcas de Eugene Fall to Hillsboro, Split Series with Hops

August 18, 2024 - Northwest League (NWL)
Eugene Emeralds News Release


EUGENE, OR - Charlie Szykowny and his Emeralds teammates were overcome with disbelief. There was no monitor for the umpires to overlook the dispute.

They probably wished to plead and point at the zoomed-in image of the hand of Szykowny's right hand and the white base it might or might not have touched before the third baseman's glove.

Szykowny was sure he touched it before the mitt. The third base umpire was not The play, which allowed Szkowny to potentially score from third with two outs, had a chance to open the scoring.

On August, 18th in the bottom of the second of the Emeralds' 5-1 loss to Hillsboro, Eugene felt it was an inch away from a potential run, so close from scratching a score across the board before Hillsboro.

Seven innings later a frame-by-frame examination of what happened isn't necessary.

There was no need to enlarge or enhance, no reason to squint. The Emeralds were good Sunday afternoon, maybe even close to better than that.

It just wasn't enough, not on a night where Eugene was 0-4 with runners in scoring position and mustered just four hits, not on a night where the Hops (58-55)were too good.

Not over the second half of the season where the Emeralds have been good but not great, likely meaning a near-miss of the playoffs is near.

To play as well as the Emeralds did before allowing a three-run seventh inning Eugene rode a quality start from Manuel Mercedes.

Mercedes allowed just one over nearly five innings of work, keeping the Emeralds in striking distance.

A pair of Szykowny singles coupled with a Jonah Cox leadoff knock to open the third provided the Emeralds with their best early chances. However, the team's offense struggled down the stretch while the Hops' pitching kept the Emeralds at bay.

But they never struck, scoring in the third via a fielder's choice, but not again on a night where Hillsboro was just too efficient and dominant on the mound overall.

Eugene has now lost the season series to the Hops (11-12), and is 7.5 games out of a playoff spot with 18 games to go. Key remaining games include a series with bottom-dweller Tri-City next week and a final road trip to Vancouver who the Emeralds trail in the standings.

First, the Emeralds travel to Tri-City, opening up a six-game series with Tri-City beginning Tuesday at 7:05.

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