Columbia River Spins Around, Shuts Out Hillsboro
July 29, 2023 - Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release
Tri-City Dust Devils' Michael Darrell-Hicks, on the mound
(Tri-City Dust Devils)
Pitchers Michael Darrell-Hicks, Dylan Phillips and Roman Phansalkar combined to four-hit the Hillsboro Hops (11-17 2H, 35-59) Friday night, with the Tri-City Dust Devils (12-16 2H, 46-48) grabbing a 4-0 shutout victory as the Columbia River Rooster Tails in front of 2,307 at Gesa Stadium.
Darrell-Hicks (2-3) had to maneuver around some early traffic on the basepaths, giving up a walk and two hits with two out in the top of the 1st. The second hit, an infield single by Hillsboro LF Junior Franco, bounced away from Columbia River 1B Matt Coutney toward his teammate, SS Arol Vera. Hops C David Martin tried to get home from second but Vera threw home to C Myles Emmerson, who tagged Martin out to end the inning.
The Rooster Tails got the offense going in the top of the 2nd inning. Vera and 3B Werner Blakely drew one-out walks from Hillsboro starter Jose Cabrera (0-2), moving into scoring position via a fly out and a stolen base, respectively. Coutney then pulled a grounder hard to the right side, where Hops 2B Manuel Peña dove and knocked the ball down. Coutney legged out the infield single and Blakely sprinted home just before the tag of Martin to make it a two-run hit and a 2-0 Columbia River lead through two innings.
The home nine went right back to work in the following frame, plating two more runs. RF D'Shawn Knowles walked to lead off the inning and stole second, and 2B Adrian Placencia singled on the infield and swiped second himself. CF Joe Redfield then came up with two in scoring position and sent a Cabrera pitch inside the right field line and rolling all the way to the wall. Knowles and Placencia scored, and Redfield raced to third for a two-run triple and a 4-0 Rooster Tails lead through three.
Four runs ended up more than enough for the Columbia River pitching staff, with a little help from its defense. LF Alexander Ramirez made a running catch at knee level in shallow left field to rob Hops DH Gary Mattis, Jr. of a hit in the 2nd inning and followed up later with a couple of tough catches in dusky skies in the 7th and 8th innings to keep Hillsboro off the basepaths.
Darrell-Hicks ended up going six innings, walking three but striking out six. Phillips then came in and worked two innings behind him, striking out two and handing the baton to Phansalkar. The Oklahoman righty worked a 1-2-3 9th inning, punctuating the shutout with a strikeout of Franco to end the ballgame and even the series at two games apiece.
The Rooster Tails managed their four runs on four hits, two off the bat of Matt Coutney who added a triple to his two-run single. Redfield's triple was his first at the High-A level, continuing a strong start to his professional career.
Columbia River and Hillsboro will meet for game five of their six-game series at 7:05 p.m. Saturday night at Gesa Stadium, with postgame fireworks presented by BNSF lighting up the night sky. Right-hander Chase Chaney (6-3, 3.13 ERA) has been scheduled to start for the Rooster Tails, and left-hander Spencer Giesting (1-5, 4.63 ERA) the same for the Hops.
Broadcast coverage begins with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m., both here and at the MiLB First Pitch app.
Tickets for both Saturday night's game and Sunday evening's finale are on sale now with special ticket rates available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on Dust Devils single game, season, mini-plan (11, 22, 33) and group tickets, visit dustdevilsbaseball.com, call the team office at (509) 544-8789, or visit the team office (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on game nights, or Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. otherwise).
Images from this story
 Tri-City Dust Devils' Michael Darrell-Hicks, on the mound |
Northwest League Stories from July 29, 2023
- Giesting Sings and Wilderd Swings, Hops Submerge Rooster Tails - Hillsboro Hops
- Emeralds' 6-Game Win Streak Snapped - Eugene Emeralds
- Hogan's Hero, Sox Win with Windish HR, 3-2 - Everett AquaSox
- Columbia River Spins Around, Shuts Out Hillsboro - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Shutout Is Fair Play; Hops Blanked at Pasco - Hillsboro Hops
- Emeralds Victorious in 6th Straight Game - Eugene Emeralds
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