Dust Devils Come Back to Win Opening Night Thriller

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NWL Tri-City Dust Devils

Dust Devils Come Back to Win Opening Night Thriller

April 5, 2025 - Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release


Tri-City Dust Devils' Caleb Ketchup and Adrian Placencia on game night
Tri-City Dust Devils' Caleb Ketchup and Adrian Placencia on game night
(Tri-City Dust Devils)

1B Ben Gobbel's 7th inning RBI single proved the difference Friday night for the Tri-City Dust Devils (1-0), who celebrated the start of the 2025 season by coming back from a 4-1 deficit to take a 5-4 win over the Vancouver Canadians (0-1) in front of 2,651 fans at Gesa Stadium. Opening Night fireworks, presented by CO-Energy, capped the great night at the ballpark for the home faithful, the first 500 of whom also received a magnet schedule presented by Tri-Cities Community Health.

BIG MOMENTS

-SS Capri Ortiz energized the crowd in his first plate appearance for Tri-City, singling to lead off the bottom of the 1st and stealing second base. The throw to catch Ortiz deflected off him into center field, allowing him to move up to third on the throwing error. Ortiz then scored on a sacrifice fly by LF Rio Foster to get the Dust Devils on the board after Vancouver scored two in the top of the inning.

-3B Caleb Ketchup provided power from the bottom of the lineup, socking a game-tying three-run home run out to left field to tie the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the 6th inning. C Juan Flores and 2B Adrian Placencia scored in front of Ketchup's no-doubter, which cleared both the new fences at Gesa Stadium and the old wall, retired after the 2024 season.

-Starting pitcher Austin Gordon struck out four in his professional debut, going four innings and getting a no-decision. Three pitchers following Gordon faced the minimum the rest of the way, as relievers Jorge Marcheco, Leonard Garcia (1-0) and A.J. Block combined in the final five innings to allow only two baserunners, both wiped out by double plays. Block struck out the side in the top of the 9th to secure his first save for Tri-City.

-The offense collected 11 hits for new Dust Devils manager Dann Bilardello, with every player who batted getting at least one hit except one (Juan Flores, who walked and scored to help the cause). Capri Ortiz went 3 for 5 to lead the attack, and RF Randy De Jesus went 2 for 4 for his first multi-hit game at the High-A level.

RUN IT BACK

Tri-City and Vancouver meet for game two of their opening three-game series at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night at Gesa Stadium. Right-hander Victor Mederos will get the start for the Dust Devils in his 2025 debut, while righty Jackson Wentworth will make his professional debut for the Canadians. Postgame fireworks will again light the night sky, thanks to Yoke's Fresh Market.

Broadcast coverage begins with the pregame show at 6:10 p.m., with streaming audio on the MiLB app and at dustdevilsbaseball.com. Live streaming video on Bally Sports Live starts toward the 6:30 p.m. first pitch.

For tickets to Saturday night's game, and all 2025 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.

Check out the Tri-City Dust Devils Statistics




Images from this story

Tri-City Dust Devils' Caleb Ketchup and Adrian Placencia on game night
Tri-City Dust Devils' Caleb Ketchup and Adrian Placencia on game night
   

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