Lisbel Diaz's Eighth-Inning Homer Lifts Eugene Past Hillsboro Hops 5-3 in Series Opener

HILLSBORO, Ore. — The Hillsboro Hops did the hard part on Tuesday night. They erased a three-run deficit, tied the game in the seventh inning and handed the bullpen a fresh start. Then Lisbel Diaz sliced a line drive over the right-field wall. Diaz's two-run homer in the eighth lifted the Eugene Emeralds to a 5-3 win over the Hops on April 21 at Hillsboro Hops Ballpark, the opener of a six-game series between the Northwest League rivals.

The loss dropped Hillsboro to 6-10, while Eugene improved to 12-4 and 4-0 against the Hops this season, according to the official box score and the Emeralds' postgame release. The Ems swept Hillsboro in Eugene on opening weekend, and they made it four straight in the matchup in front of 1,108 fans on a cloudy, 56-degree night.

Hagaman Dominates Early

The early innings belonged to the Hillsboro pitching staff. David Hagaman, making his 2026 season debut, opened the game and did not allow a hit over two innings, striking out five of the eight batters he faced. Eugene's only threat against him came in the second, when he walked Zander Darby and Walker Martin before catching Onil Perez looking.

Eugene starter Charlie McDaniel matched him. McDaniel retired the first seven Hops he faced on his way to five innings of one-run ball, allowing two hits and striking out four. The Emeralds' release noted it was his longest outing of the season after he went three innings in each of his first two starts.

Eugene Breaks Through in the Third

The Emeralds got to reliever Kyle Ayers in the third. After Robert Hipwell struck out, Trevor Cohen singled to center and Gavin Kilen dropped down a bunt single. Dakota Jordan followed with a soft single to right that scored Cohen, Carlos Gutierrez drove a double off the wall in straightaway center to score Kilen, and Diaz grounded out to bring Jordan home. Just like that, Eugene led 3-0.

Hillsboro got one back in the fourth. Avery Owusu-Asiedu drew a walk, moved to second on a groundout and scored when Brady Counsell lined a single to left. Ayers settled in after the third and ended up covering 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits with four strikeouts.

The Hops Rally to Tie It

The Hops finally solved the Eugene bullpen in the seventh. Yassel Soler singled off reliever Cade Vernon to start the rally, and Alberto Barriga reached when Darby could not field his grounder cleanly at second base, sending Soler to third. Yerald Nin singled to left to drive in Soler, and Modeifi Marte followed with a sacrifice fly to center that scored Barriga and tied the game 3-3.

It was the kind of inning that had been missing for a Hillsboro offense that went most of the night without much traffic. The Hops finished with five hits, and no Hillsboro batter had more than one, but they went 3-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Diaz Delivers in the Eighth

The tie lasted half an inning. Jordan led off the eighth with a line-drive single to right against Hops reliever Sandro Santana, his second hit of the night. One out later, Diaz drove a pitch over the right-field wall for his second home run of the season. The Emeralds' release measured it at 98.5 mph off the bat and 361 feet. It gave Diaz three RBIs on the night.

Ben Peterson took it from there. The Eugene right-hander retired all six batters he faced in the eighth and ninth innings, striking out two, to earn his third save. Vernon got the win despite allowing the tying runs in the seventh, improving to 3-0, while Santana took the loss after giving up two runs over 2 1/3 innings.

Jordan went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored for Eugene, and Gutierrez's third-inning double was his third of the year. Eugene's defense also turned two double plays, both finishing with first baseman Hipwell, to erase Hops baserunners in the third and fourth innings.

What Comes Next

The Hillsboro News-Times summed up the evening as a comeback that came up short, and the numbers back that up. Hillsboro had the game tied with two at-bats left to find a go-ahead run, and instead the Hops went down in order in both the eighth and the ninth.

The six-game series was set to continue Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. at Hillsboro Hops Ballpark, with Tyler Switalski scheduled to start for Eugene, according to the Emeralds. For a Hillsboro team still searching for traction in the early weeks of its first season in a new ballpark, the lesson from Tuesday was simple enough. Against a club that has not lost back-to-back games all season, tying the game is only half the job.

Photo Credit: Aaron Leopold/Undrafted