Late Miscues Deep-Six Hops in Eugene
Published on August 20, 2025 under Northwest League (NWL)
Hillsboro Hops News Release
EUGENE, ORE. - Hops starter Ashton Izzi was cruising. And then changes --- like everything else on Tuesday night at P.K. Park --- came fast.
Izzi, leading 2-1, had retired the first two Eugene Emeralds hitters in the bottom of the seventh, when a blooper, an infield hit that should have been an out, a well-placed ground ball and an error tied the game. The Ems were just getting started, and by the time the inning ended, they had sent 11 men to the plate and scored six runs. They went on to a 7-2 win in the series opener, a game that lasted just an hour and 57 minutes, the fastest of the year for both clubs.
Izzi --- acquired from the Seattle Mariners at the trade deadline --- had his best start as a Hop. He allowed a solo home run to Eugene first baseman Charlie Szykowni in the first inning, but gave up just a single and a walk over the next five frames. He retired 10 in a row between the fourth and seventh innings.
The Hops tied the game on first baseman Modeifi Marte's first home run in a Hillsboro uniform, a solo shot off Eugene starter Charlie McDaniel in the third. And in the fourth, Hillsboro took the lead on a bunt single by second baseman Jansel Luis, a hit batter and an errant pickoff throw by Ems catcher Onil Perez.
It was starting to look like the Hops' 2-1 lead would stand up. Izzi had thrown just 67 pitches by the time he retired the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh. But Eugene designated hitter Jean Carlos Sio hit a flare to left, just out of reach of Slade Caldwell's dive. Ems shortstop Zane Zielinski hit a chopper past the mound. Luis charged in front of the second base bag, and with his momentum carrying him away from first, threw low and to the left of Marte. Marte stretched to catch it near the ground, but the ball caromed off his glove, and Zielinski had an infield hit. Damian Bravo punched a ground-ball single down the right-field line, which brought Sio home with the tying run, and sent Izzi to the showers.
Right-hander Joangel Gonzalez was summoned from the Hillsboro bullpen to face number-nine hitter Jose Ramos. In the key play in the game, Ramos hit a chopper to the Hops' Anderdson Rojas at third base. The normally sure-handed Rojas bobbled it, and with Ramos hustling down the line all the way, his throw was late. The error put Eugene ahead 3-2. After another single and a hit batter, Szykowny singled to right to bring home a pair, and third baseman Parks Harber singled up the middle to add another.
Eight consecutive batters had reached base, six had scored, and Eugene led 7-2.
Right-handers Liam Simon and Ryan Vanderhei each worked a pair of scoreless innings in relief of McDaniel. Simon earned the win, and Izzi took the hard-luck loss.
Luis went 3-for-4 for the Hops, and has hit in seven consecutive games, with the last six being multi-hit games. He's 15-for-28 during the seven-game hitting streak, and is hitting .368 in August.
Eugene (36-13 in the second half, 68-47 overall) has a nine-game lead on Vancouver in the second-half pennant race, with 17 games remaining. The Hops (19-30 in the second half, 50-63 overall) are 17 games behind, and have been mathematically eliminated. On the plus side of the ledger? Despite Tuesday's loss, the Hops have the second-best record in the league (16-12) since the All-Star break.
The second game of the six-game series in Eugene will be on Wednesday night at 6:35. The radio pregame show begins at 6:20 on Rip City Radio 620AM and www.RipCityRadio.com.
Northwest League Stories from August 20, 2025
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- Hops Announce 2026 Schedule for Inaugural Season at New Ballpark - Hillsboro Hops
- Dust Devils Cut Down by Canadians in Opener - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Late Miscues Deep-Six Hops in Eugene - Hillsboro Hops
- Stanifer Sparkles, C's Blank Dust Devils 5-0 - Vancouver Canadians
- Felnin Celesten Blasts Homer In AquaSox Debut - Everett AquaSox
- Emeralds Explode for 6 Runs in the 7th Inning to Launch Them to Victory in the Fastest 9-Inning Game in the NWL this Season - Eugene Emeralds
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