Hillsboro Hops Ruled Eugene Emeralds 8-0
The Hillsboro Hops ruled and are serious about the second half championship. The power barrage from the plate and the mound control from the pitching staff is leaving no doubt as they took game two from the Eugene Emeralds, 8-0.
Double Your Pleasure
The Hillsboro Hops ruled by letting loose four doubles to go along with Eddie Hernandez’ solo home run in the first inning. Two of them by Dominic Canzone as he scored twice. Two of them back to back in the seventh by Canzone and Kevin Lachance. The fourth by Andy Yerzy added to Yerzy’s two scores earlier in the game.
By comparison, the Emeralds mustered three hits on the night including a double by Alexander Guerra and a triple by Jake Washer. A sign of the shut down pitching by starter Tyler Holton (W, 3-0) and Nick Snyder.
Dynamic Duo
Tyler Holton, a ninth round draft choice last year out of Florida State, joined the Hillsboro Hops on July 16th when the Diamondbacks promoted him from the AZL D-backs. Three days later, Holton started his first game on a limited pitch count. Holton didn’t give up his first earned run until his second game, facing the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in a no decision.
The only rough spot in his rookie year came earlier this month against the same Volcanoes when Holton allowed five runs in another no decision. In his seven games in the NW League so far, those are the only earned runs allowed by the former Seminole ace. Without that two-inning, five run blip, Holton’s record features six games and 25 innings of shut-out ball. Not one run.
Teamed up with Holton is Nick Snyder (1-0), a 2019 draft choice out of West Virginia. The ace reliever is showing similar numbers, making the two a devastating pair to face for opposing teams. In twelve innings of NW League ball, Snyder did not allow an earned run. Zero. While doing so, Snyder allowed four hits over those twelve innings and struck out 23.
Run Support
To say the Hillsboro Hops ruled with their offense and call it mere run support is like calling any of NASA’s moonshots just a trip to the grocery store for some snacks. The Hops’ bats snacked on Emeralds pitching all night.
Two outstanding performances made it impossible to select just one batter to lead them all. First off, Eddie Hernandez struck a moonshot of his own when he sent a solo shot over the left-centerfield wall in the first inning. In his next at bat, Hernadez singled and scored. Add two walks and Eddie reached base four out of five times. Hard to stop a guy when you can’t keep him off base.
Another star mention is the recently hot Dominic Canzone. Making a habit of destroying pitching from the plate, Canzone continued tonight with two doubles, a single and a walk while scoring two runs of his own. Canzone has spent only two weeks with the Hillsboro Hops so far and counting. After a slow start, he reached a low point of a .107 batting average just a week ago. Since then, Canzone is on fire. Canzone gave performances of 2 for 4 (twice), 1 for 3 and 3 for 4, raising his batting average up to .235 in just a week.
Throw in Andy Yerzy who went 2 for 4, with two runs and two RBI along with Kevin Lachance who also went 2 for four and doubled in a run, and you can see that the Hops were not short of heroes tonight.
Standings
The results of which are an increasing lead for the second half championship of the Southern Division. The win increased the Hillsboro Hops (17-10) lead over the Eugene Emeralds (14-13) to three games. The Hops, the hottest team in the league right now with a four-game winning streak, already own the three-game series having won the first two games. Tomorrow night, the Hops look to sweep the Emeralds while Eugene fights to stay in the hunt for the championship.
The Hillsboro Hops send newcomer Blake Walston (0-0) to the mound for his NW League debut. Walston comes from the AZL D-backs after being drafted this year out of New Hanover High School. While in the Rookie League, Walston allowed one run in five innings while striking out eleven batters.
The Emeralds send Josh Burgmann (0-3) to face Walston. Drafted this year out of the University of Washington, Burgmann made his pro debut with the Emeralds on the 4th of July. Since then, Burgmann started seven games on limited pitch counts. In almost 14 innings, he gave up six earned runs but struck out 17 while only walking two.
Stay with the Minor League Sports Report for game recaps throughout the season. Also, follow me on Twitter for half inning updates on all Hops home games. Next home game is on August 28th, when the Hops return to Ron Tonkin Field for the final homestand of the season, hosting the Boise Hawks.
Box Score
By
Greg Stoker
@GDStoker