EUGENE – Allan Benavides, the general manager of the Eugene Emeralds, embraces the fun aspect of minor league baseball.

Whether it's changing his team's uniform to a tie-dyed look that fits the Eugene culture, or adding the mysterious Sasquatch as the new "face of the franchise," Benavides' mind rarely stops thinking of ways to innovate.

That's why he was a keen observer to the relocation efforts of the Yakima (Wash.) Bears over the past couple of years. And when the Bears officially became the Hillsboro Hops this season, Benavides grew excited about the possibility of a three-way Oregon rivalry.

For the first time since the Portland Rockies left the city in 2000, the state of Oregon has three teams in the eight-team Northwest League. A year ago, the short-season Single-A professional league featured four teams from Washington, one in Canada, one in Idaho and two in Oregon.

Now, the Hops have joined Eugene and the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes to create a geographic trifecta that Benavides wants to embrace.

"It's really exciting to have three teams in the state now," Benavides said. "It'd be great to get a fun rivalry going with all the teams. I'd love to get a trophy or a cup involved with the rivalry."

The model for such an award is the three-way rivalry in Major League Soccer between the Portland Timbers, the Seattle Sounders and the Vancouver (B.C.) Whitecaps. Since 2004, the three bitter rivals have passionately played for the Cascadia Cup, which is earned by the team that fared the best against the other two rivals each season.

That would mean that even if the Hops don't perform well enough to reach the Northwest League playoffs, they could still earn the right to celebrate if they win the combined season series against the Emeralds and Volcanoes.

The Timbers, for example, had a disappointing 2012 season that ended with no postseason appearance. But the local soccer team was still able to hoist a trophy and give their fans a reason to cheer because they performed the best during the head-to-head meetings with Seattle and Vancouver.

The hope, Benavides said, is that it would provide additional incentive for fans to come out to the ballpark to cheer on their team against their in-state rivals.

But rivalries take time to develop, as evidenced by the reactions of a couple of Emeralds fans at Eugene's 3-2 win over Hillsboro in 11 innings on Tuesday night. As a few Hops pitchers were walking to the bullpen between innings, the fans heckled the players by saying, "Go back to Washington!"

The new Eugene Emeralds logo, featuring Sasquatch.

When told that the team was now based in Oregon, one fan's eyes grew wide and he said, "Really? That's actually pretty cool. Might have to make a trip up there this summer to check it out and cheer on the Ems."

Hillsboro's loss Tuesday – its eighth by one run this season – dropped its overall record to 4-15 and secured the series win for Eugene. But the Hops won the first series against the Emeralds, taking two of three games in the historic first home series in Hillsboro Ballpark. Hillsboro beat Eugene 12-0 in the home opener, lost 2-0 in the second game and closed the series with a 2-1 win over the Emeralds.

The Hops, a minor league affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, are still looking for their first win over the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Hillsboro opened its season by losing three games at Volcanoes Stadium, falling by scores of 3-2, 8-4 and 7-6.

The first-place Volcanoes then extended their record to 6-0 against Hillsboro by sweeping a three game series last weekend at Hillsboro Ballpark. The Hops were outscored by Salem-Keizer 21-9 in three games.

But Hillsboro still has several chances to end its first in-state rivalry season on a strong note. The Hops return to Salem-Keizer for a three-game series from July 23-25 and then host the Volcanoes for three games from August 13-15 in Hillsboro.

The Hops also play six of their final 12 games of the regular season against the Eugene Emeralds, an affiliate of the San Diego Padres.

Hillsboro makes the two-hour drive on I-5 South once more in August to play at PK Park, the facility that the Emeralds share with the University of Oregon's baseball program. The Hops play three games at Eugene from August 21-23 and then host the Emeralds for three games in the final home series of the season from August 28-30 at Hillsboro Ballpark.

The Emeralds are the first and last opponents on the Hops' home schedule.

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