Hillsboro Hops, Franklyn Soriano Lock Down Eugene Emeralds, 5-1
For the second night in a row, Andy Yerzy lit up the plate for the Hillsboro Hops. Then, Franklyn Soriano and the rest of the pitching staff kept the host Eugene Emeralds at bay 5-1. Last night, Andy lit up Salem-Keizer pitching for four hits on four trips to the plate. Keeping his show on the road, Andy lit up the Eugene pitching staff in the first game of the three-game road trip. Going 3 for 5, Andy Yerzy also hit a double, a home run and scored two runs. For the last two nights, Andy has gone 7 for 9. Check out Andy’s game last night at: Hillsboro Hops, Andy Yerzy Blast Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, 6-5.
The story though, was pitching. Matt Mercer started for the Hops and kept the Emeralds scoreless with an inning from Ryan Miller to help. It took Eugene six innings, but they finally scored their lone run with Nico Hoerner’s solo blast in the bottom of the inning with two outs.
Franklyn Soriano Earns Win
In the third, Franklyn Soriano (W, 2-1) came to the mound and held his presence, giving up only the solo blast. In five innings, Franklyn struck out five batters, giving up one run and one hit for the win. Yeison Santana (S, 1) took care of the last two innings for the save. Santana added two more strike out victims allowing no runs or hits. Hops pitching struck out eight batters total with no walks.
The Hops bats pounded eleven hits to Eugene’s four. Ryan Dobson hit twice, scoring a run and knocking another run over the plate. Keyshawn Lynch went 2 for 3 scoring once. Dan Swain went 2 for 4, scoring once and knocked another runner home. Three other Hops batters got a hit on the night. Most of the hits were singles with the exception of Andy Yerzy going yard and doubling.
Brailyn Marquez (L, 1-2) started for the Eugene Emeralds. The third-year veteran out of the Dominican Republic lasted four innings giving up only one run for the loss. Five other Emerald pitchers took the mound but they gave up more runs than had success. Emerald pitching also struck out eight batters for the game but did walk three. Relief pitcher Dalton Geekie made an appearance in the top of the eighth. Geekie allowed no hits or runs but also faced no batters. The right hander left with an injured arm before he could enter the stat column.
Emerald bats fared little better. The home team managed four hits though one was Nico’s home run in the sixth. Johnathan Sierra, Nelson Velasquez and Luis Diaz all had a single to account for the other hits.
Next
The win increased the Hillsboro Hops (16-7) first place lead to three games over the Boise Hawks (13-10) and Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (13-10). The loss dropped the Eugene Emeralds (8-15) to eight games behind the Hops.
Both teams meet again for the second game of the series. Adrian Del Morel, a RHP out of Mexico, is scheduled to start for the Hops. The Emeralds are starting Jose Albertos. Jose is a RHP who is also out of Mexico.
By
Greg Stoker
@GDStoker