Jorge Barrosa stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the tenth with two outs and knocked a game winning RBI single into left field.  Andy Yerzy, on second, came racing around third to touch the plate for the game winning run. The throw home was late and wide. Yerzy came home standing up and his teammates were already rushing to crowd Barrosa who had just touched first.  The Hillsboro Hops beat the Eugene Emeralds 4-3 in ten innings.

Hops Step Up in 9th and 10th

The Hops managed nine hits during the game but also left nine Hops stranded on base at the end of innings.  Though small came late, it was still in time for Ricky Martinez to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth with one out and Jesus Marriaga on second.  His double almost scored Andy Yerzy from first to win but the throw from right fielder Edmond Americaan was in time to make Yerzy hold up.

The game winner waited one more inning before knocking the Ems out.  Andy Yerzy was intentionally walked to start the tenth. Yerzy then took the opportunity to take second when Eddie Hernandez was thrown out trying to take third.  Hernandez slid early and came up short but the throw from catcher Jonathon Soto was on time and accurate. The perfect throw for the circumstance.

Small Blip in Otherwise Perfection

Starting pitcher Luis Frias went five innings but ran into some trouble in the second.  Jake Slaughter opened with a triple splitting Kristian Robinson and Jorge Barrosa in the outfield to the fence.  Slaughter came home on Jonathon Soto’s double that sailed over centerfielder Robinson’s glove and to the fence. Soto came home on Reivaj Garcia’s single.

Reivaj Garcia was hurt on the play, stepping badly on first base while he raced ahead of the infield throw.  Garcia had to leave the game but was able to walk to the dugout without assistance. Luis Diaz took Garcia’s place on the first base bag and finished the game.

Frias was visited on the mound during all of this but the decision was confidence in their starter and Frias remained in the game.  It was the right decision. The second inning was only a blip. In the other four innings, Frias faced the minimum twelve batters and struck out eight of them.  He left after five with the score tied.

Hops Arms Shut Down Ems Bats

Jose Cuas (W, 2-0) came on to start the ninth and held the Ems scoreless and hitless for the last two innings to earn the win.  Yaramil Hiraldo and Franklyn Soriano managed the set up well allowing only one hit and zero runs over three and a third innings.  Riley McCauley (L, 0-1) started the ninth for the Ems and gave up Barrosa’s game winner for the loss.

Standings

The win gave the Hillsboro Hops (10-6) sole possession of first place in the Southern Division.  The Eugene Emeralds (7-9) dropped to three games behind the Hops in the tight division race. Both teams return to Ron Tonkin Field on Sunday at 4:05 PM for the final and third game of the series.  The Hops lead 2-0 and have a chance to sweep their rivals who knocked them out of the first round of the playoffs last year.

You can check the archives of every game this season as well as seasons back to 2015 here.

Box Score

By

Greg Stoker

@GDStoker