Quiet bats doom Hops in 5-1 loss at Eugene

Four hits won’t get you much, but it did get the Hops a 5-1 loss to the Emeralds on Wednesday night, Aug. 14, at PK Park in Eugene.

The Ems got a home run, two hits and three RBI from Charlie Szykowny, then let starting pitcher Esmerlin Vinicio and the Eugene bullpen do the rest en route to a dominant four-run win.

Vinicio allowed one earned run on two hits in five innings of work, then turned the game over to relievers Trent Harris, Matt Mikulski and Hunter Dula who combined to allow two hits over the game’s final four innings.

Eugene got a run in the second inning, then, after Hillsboro tied the game 1-1 in the top of the third on a Jose Fernandez home run, the home Ems scored three runs in the bottom half of that same inning, all on a Szykowny long-ball to right field.

Eugene tacked a final run on in the seventh thanks to a Jonah Cox solo homer.

Hillsboro starting pitcher Avery Short struggled, allowing four earned runs on six hits over five innings.

The 23-year-old lefthander has allowed 12 earned runs over his last 13.1 innings.

The loss coupled with a Spokane win dropped the Hops eight games behind the first-place Indians.

Hillsboro and Eugene will face off again at 6:35 p.m. this evening at PK Park.