EUGENE, ORE. (August 14, 2026) --- It happened so fast, it was enough to make your head spin.
The Hillsboro Hops led the Eugene Emeralds 1-0 entering the bottom of the seventh inning on Friday night at P.K. Park. Then, in the span of 16 pitches, Eugene sent eight batters to the plate and scored five runs. They added another in the eighth to lead 6-1. The Hops answered with four runs in the top of the ninth, highlighted by Jakey Josepha’s three-run homer (his second dinger of the game), but fell short in a 6-5 loss. Hillsboro is five games out of a playoff spot with 20 games remaining in the season.
Right-hander Mason Marriott, working his way back into form after Tommy John surgery in the spring of 2025, had his best outing of the season, striking out six and allowing two hits, no walks and no runs over two and two-thirds innings. Fellow right-hander John West relieved Marriott, and sailed through the sixth, retiring 10 of the first 11 batters he faced.
Josepha had hit a solo homer in the top of the third off Ems starter Niko Mazza, and entering the top of the seventh, it was the only run of the game. Hillsboro had a chance to break the game open in the seventh, but an incredible double play kept them off the board. With the bases loaded, one out and the infield in, Josepha hit a shot headed up the middle. Eugene second baseman Zane Zielinski dived to his right, somehow snared a short-hop, and threw to second for the second out of the inning. Shortstop Jhonny Level’s throw to first was on the outfield side of the bag, but first baseman Hayden Jatczak, fully out-stretched, fell to his right to keep his toe on the bag and complete the DP.
What could have turned into a two- or three-run lead --- or even bigger --- was still a 1-0 game going to the bottom of the seventh. Then came the lightning-fast rally: Walker Martin (1st pitch) bunted for a base hit. Jatczak (2nd pitch) doubled him home to tie the game. Zielinski (1st pitch) sacrificed Jatczak to third base. Daniel Rogers (1st pitch) hit a sacrifice fly to right to put Eugene up 2-1. Then, with two out and none on, number-nine hitter Robert Hipwell (3rd pitch) homered to left. Level drew a six-pitch walk. Zander Darby (1st pitch) also homered, and Lisbel Diaz (1st pitch) fouled out to end the inning. Sixteen pitches, 10 strikes, four hits and two home runs. Five runs scored… just like that.
And when Martin hit a one-out home run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 6-1, what looked like a meaningless add-on homer turned out to be the difference in the game.
In the top of the ninth,the Hops were facing Ems reliever Cade Vernon. Kayson Cunningham walked, and with one out Ivan Luciano singled. Yassel Soler’s base hit brought home a run, and Josepha then pounded his second round-tripper of the game, a three-run shot to right-center field. It was 6-5, and Vernon was lifted from the game.
Eugene called on Ryan Slater to get the final two outs, and he did, retiring Wallace Clark on a fly out to center and striking out Diosfran Cabeza to end the game.
Mazza allowed just one run on three hits over six and a third innings, walking two and striking out eight. Vernon (7-3) got the win despite allowing four runs in two innings, and Slater earned his seventh save. West (4-9) took the loss, giving up six hits and six runs in 5.2 innings, walking one and striking out five. West had allowed just seven home runs in 80 innings when he served up three in a six-hitter span during the seventh and eighth frames.
Josepha became the fourth Hop with a multi-home run game in 2026, joining Demetrio Crisantes, Modeifi Marte and Yassel Soler.
Hillsboro and Eugene have split the first four games of the six-game series; the Hops took two of three in Hillsboro from Tuesday through Thursday, and Friday’s Emeralds win was the first of three games in Eugene.
Saturday’s game begins at 5:05 PM, with the radio pregame show beginning at 4:50 PM on Rip City Radio 620AM and RipCityRadio.com.