Emeralds walk-off homer caps 6-run comeback in season opener

by Jacob Archer

For the second straight Opening Day, the Ems sent fans home happy with a walk-off victory.

Last year, Charlie Szykowny was the hero. In the bottom of the ninth Friday night, it was Giants No. 5 prospect Gavin Kilen crushing an absolute no-doubt two-run homer to give the Ems the 8-6 victory and complete the six-run comeback.

Opening Night started quietly, with both teams going down in order.

The Hops jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second off the bat of Wallace Clark who drove home the first run on a sac fly.

The Hops really opened things up in the third, as they put up four runs in the frame. Yassel Soler hit a two-run home run before Avery Owusu-Asiedu and Yerald Nin recorded RBI base hits to give the Hops a 5-0 lead. 

That takes us to the third inning. Alberto Barriga‘s solo shot extended Hillsboro’s lead to six, and proved to be the final run of the game for the Hops.

It was a quiet fourth inning before everything changed in the bottom of the fifth. 

Walker Martin led off with a 406-foot home run to get Eugene on the board for the first time in the 2026 season. Zane Zielinski hit a one-out single and Trevor Cohen walked to put the pressure on the Hops. Gavin Kilen stepped into the box and provided the spark the Ems needed with a three-run home run (exit velocity: 106 mph) to cut the lead to a pair. 

The Ems tied the game in the sixth. Walker Martin once again led off with a hit, this time a double down the left field line. Diego Cartaya drew a walk and Zane Zielinski singled Martin home.

The Ems then played some small ball as Cohen hit into a groundout to move up the runners so that Kilen could pick up his fourth RBI of the night on a groundout and tie the game at 6-6. 

Tyler Switalski was the unsung hero of tonight’s contest, as he pitched 3.2 innings and allowed just two hits, no runs, no walks and a whopping eight strikeouts before turning the ball over to Ben Peterson with two outs in the eighth inning. 

Peterson allowed a leadoff walk to start the eighth before Zielinski was able to turn a double play. He then got Trent Youngblood to strike out looking and the keys were turned over to the Emeralds offense to complete the magical night. 

Cohen worked a tremendous first at-bat and drew a five-pitch walk to put the game-winning run on base with nobody out. Kilen wasted little time as he capped off his historic Opening Day with an absolute no-doubt home run to right field to complete the six-run come-from-behind victory against the Hops. 

What a game, what a night, and what a victory from the Ems! If this win tonight is a preview of what’s in store, it’s going to be a magical 71st season in Eugene.