Devils Feel the Burn Again
July 26, 2016 - Northwest League (NWL1)
Hillsboro Hops News Release
At this point, the Hillsboro Hops have to be the last team that Tri-City wants to see when the stakes are high.
Ten months after the Hops held the Dust Devils to three hits in a Northwest League Championship-clinching 6-1 victory, the Hops again put the handcuffs on Tri-City's playoff aspirations. Five Hops pitchers combined on a five-hit shutout as the Hops knocked Tri-City into a first-half tie with a 3-0 win at Gesa Stadium in Pasco Monday night.
Earlier in the evening, the Spokane Indians defeated the Boise Hawks 4-2, meaning Tri-City needed a win to clinch a postseason berth. The Indians and Dust Devils each finished 19-19 atop the NWL North Division, giving the playoff berth to the Tribe by virtue of a better head-to-head record (2-1).
Hops starting pitcher Wei-Chieh Huang departed the game after loading the bases with two outs in the fifth, one out shy of qualifying for the victory. Huang allowed four hits and struck out six with one walk before handing the ball to Jefferson Mejia. Mejia (1-2), recently shifted to the bullpen from the starting rotation for the second consecutive season, retired Buddy Reed on a fly out to center field and pitched a focused 1 1/3 innings with no walks, one strikeout and no runs allowed. From there, it was lights out as three Hops relievers held the Dust Devils hitless for the final three innings.
Hillsboro got three straight singles with two outs in the first inning, with Josh Anderson coming around to score after Taylor Kohlwey bobbled Luis Veras' single to left field. Anderson drove in Hillsboro's second run in the third inning when Luis Silverio singled, went to third on an errant pickoff throw by Tri-City starting pitcher Angel Mejia (1-2) and crossed the plate on Anderson's ground out to first. Anderson singled and scored in the fifth inning on Boise's third error of the game, when Chris Baker threw wildly to first after Luis Veras' grounder to short.
The Hops bullpen locked away that 3-0 lead tightly, starting with Kevin Ginkel in the seventh. Jordan Watson, well-rested after a week off the mound, fanned the side in the eighth inning. Jake Winston nailed down the ninth with three straight outs, one night after the Hops blew a one-run lead in the final inning.
The Hops outhit the Devils 11-5, all singles, led by Anderson, Veras and Manny Jefferson with two each. In a battle between two of the worst defenses in the NWL, Hillsboro played error-free ball and capitalized on three Boise errors with two unearned runs.
Kyle Overstreet had two hits for Tri-City and Kohlwey had the only extra-base hit for either team with a triple in the third inning. Mejia surrendered all 11 Hillsboro hits as Adrian De Horta and Will Stillman combined to strike out four Hops batters in 3 1/3 perfect innings of relief as the final half of the game flew by in a blink.
The NWL now resets for the second half of the season as all team records go back to zero. Hillsboro begins with a six-game homestand, welcoming the Boise Hawks to Ron Tonkin Field fo the first of three games tonight, Game time is 7:05 p.m. with pregame airtime at 6:35 p.m. on Rip City Radio 620 AM. Salem-Keizer comes in next for a three-game weekend series before the league takes three days off for the NWL-Pioneer League All-Star game in Ogden, Utah on Tuesday, August 2. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.
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Northwest League Stories from July 26, 2016
- Volcanoes Send Four to NWL All-Star Game - Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- Trio of C's Named to All-Star Game - Vancouver Canadians
- Three Dust Devils Selected to NWL All-Star Team - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Five AquaSox Named NWL All-Stars - Everett AquaSox
- Four Spokane Indians Named to NWL vs. Pioneer League All-Star Game - Spokane Indians
- Zombies Are Coming to PK Park - Eugene Emeralds
- Emeralds Encourage Fans to Bike to the Ballpark - Eugene Emeralds
- Volcanoes to Host Cancer Awareness Weekend - Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- Salem-Keizer Falls in Record-Setting Time - Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- Eugene Completes Five-Game Sweep Of Canadians - Vancouver Canadians
- Devils Feel the Burn Again - Hillsboro Hops
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