Columbia River Turns Wheel of Shutouts, Blanks Hillsboro
July 31, 2023 - Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release
Tri-City Dust Devils' Gustavo Campero at bat
(Tri-City Dust Devils)
The familiar formula of early runs and great pitching propelled the Tri-City Dust Devils (13-17 2H, 47-49) to a series split with the Hillsboro Hops (12-18 2H, 36-60) via a 4-0 shutout win Sunday night at Gesa Stadium.
The home team completed their weekend as the Columbia River Rooster Tails by putting 11 hits on the board, including three back-to-back off Hillsboro starter Yilber Diaz (1-9) in the bottom of the 1st. LF Joe Stewart singled through the right side, C Gustavo Campero doubled to the wall in right-center, and 2B Arol Vera shoved a spinner past a drawn-in left side of the infield to score Stewart for a 1-0 lead. RF Alexander Ramirez then hit a sacrifice fly to right for a 2-0 Columbia River lead.
For the second time in the series two runs would be enough for Rooster Tails starter Jorge Marcheco (3-0), who threw five shutout innings and gave up only two hits on the way to his tenth win of the season between High-A and Single-A Inland Empire. The resident of Santiago, the Dominican Republic struck out seven and walked only one, retiring the last 11 Hops batters he faced.
Columbia River relievers Cam Tullar and Jared Southard took it the rest of the way, both going two innings. Tullar, a lefty joining the team earlier in the week, struck out four and allowed only one baserunner via a hit-by-pitch. Southard pitched the 8th and 9th innings for his second save, working around a hit in each inning to complete the shutout.
The Rooster Tails gave themselves breathing room beginning in the bottom of the 7th inning. 1B Matt Coutney walked, SS Caleb Ketchup laid down a perfect bunt to the left side for a hit, and CF D'Shawn Knowles lined a hard opposite-field single to left to load the bases. 2B Adrian Placencia then blooped an RBI single to left, scoring Coutney to make it 3-0.
Two more runs came in in the bottom of the 8th inning, starting with a bang: Campero blasting a ball over the wall in right field for a solo home run and a 4-0 advantage. It was the switch-hitting Colombian's ninth home run of 2023 and his sixth against Hillsboro, all solo shots. Vera then restarted things with a single to left and moved up to second on an errant pickoff throw. A grounder and a sacrifice fly by 3B Werner Blakely later, he was home for the final 5-0 margin.
At the plate Columbia River received multi-hit games from Adrian Placencia (2-4, RBI), Gustavo Campero (2-3, 2B, HR, HBP), Arol Vera (2-4, RBI) and Caleb Ketchup (2-4). Matt Coutney and Joe Stewart both singled and scored to aid the cause.
The Rooster Tails win marked the fourth straight shutout in the six-game series, each team on the losing end of two. The Hops ended up taking the season series from the Rooster Tails/Dust Devils 14-13, winning the opening series of the season in April two games to one and splitting four six-game series afterwards.
The Tri-City Dust Devils take the reins again Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m., when they host the Eugene Emeralds in the first of a six-game series on another Coca-Cola Tuesday. 21 oz. Coca-Cola products can be enjoyed for $2 all throughout the game. Broadcast coverage begins with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m., both here and at the MiLB First Pitch app.
Tickets for the Eugene series are on sale now. Also, special ticket rates are 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' Gustavo Campero at bat |
Northwest League Stories from July 31, 2023
- The Spokane Indians Are Back - Everett AquaSox
- Conor Larkin Named NWL Pitcher of the Week - Vancouver Canadians
- AquaSox Take Series Finale 3-1 - Everett AquaSox
- Columbia River Turns Wheel of Shutouts, Blanks Hillsboro - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Series Split at Tri-City Ends in 4th Straight Shutout - Hillsboro Hops
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