The Eugene Emeralds (9-5) swept their three-game series against the Hillsboro Hops (6-8) with an 8-3 victory on Wednesday night.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the third, Aramis Ademan drove in two runs with a line drive double to right field. A double from Miguel Amaya gave the Emeralds two more runs with Gustavo Polanco’s single sending Amaya to home plate giving the Emeralds a commanding 6-1 lead.
Aggressive base running was an important part of the Emerald’s success. They finished with four steals.
“You have to take every opportunity,” said Emerald’s manager Jesus Filiciano. “If they are giving us a chance we gotta go for it. We scored four bases tonight and that’s the way we want them to play — to be aggressive, smart, and at the same time try to get that extra base first to third.”
The Hops scored one run in the third inning, but fell short of another run after a third-out catch was made by Davis in the outfield with bases loaded. Then the Emeralds made their offensive explosion.
Zach Davis’ .400 hitting percentage with two homers made him the player to watch in the Emerald’s series against Hillsboro. Filiciano mentioned how Davis’ transition from a right-handed to left-handed hitter is helping his performance.
“He’s been working really hard to get where he’s at right now,” Filiciano said. “He’s learning how to hit left-handed because of his speed, and if he hits left handed this will help him a lot.”
Ademan added an extra run, keeping the Emeralds ahead 7-1 in the fifth inning by hitting a line drive to left field which led Davis home.
Hillsboro’s Yan Sanchez started out the Hops’ seventh inning with a line drive down center field. With the help of Camden Duzenack’s bunt, Sanchez made it to second and in the next play. Pavin Smith drove in two runs for the Hops with a double sending both Duzenack and Sanchez home.
The Ems were able to pick up one more run to finish off the series with Davis’ single, scoring Tolly Filotei.
The Ems will play the first of a five-game series against Vancouver 7 p.m. Thursday at PK Park, looking to keep up the intensity of their base-running strategy and bring home another series victory.
Follow Daphne Martin on Twitter @daaphnemaartin
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