NWL1 Hillsboro Hops

Hillsboro Hops at Spokane Indians

Published on June 22, 2015 under Northwest League (NWL1)
Hillsboro Hops News Release


TONIGHT: Hops' RHP Jeferson Mejia will make his Hillsboro debut. The big 6-7 native of the Dominican Republic started his season with Long-A Kane County of the Midwest League, and struggled as a starter and reliever in Illinois. Spokane will send RHP Cody Palmquist to the mound, after he threw a scoreless inning against the Hops 6/18.

2014 vs. SPOKANE: The Hops enjoyed success against the Indians last year, posting an 8-2 record. They took four out of five games in Spokane from 7/30-8/3, and again took four out of five in Hillsboro from 8/20-8/24. The Hops own a 15-5 record all time against the Indians.

A LATIN FLAIR: The Hops' opening-day roster has a strong Latin presence. Eight players hail from the Dominican Republic: RHP Ariel Hernandez, RHP Carlos Hernandez, RHP Jose Martinez, RHP Jeferson Mejia, IF Sergio Alcantara, IF Raymel Flores, IF Fernery Ozuna, and OF Luis Veras. There are also two Venezuelans on the roster: hitting coach Javier Colina and C Jose Queliz. FIVE FRIENDLY FACES: Five players from Hillsboro's championship run return to the Hops in 2015: LHP Jared Miller, RHP Mike Cetta, C Nate Irving, IF Galli Cribbs and UT Nate Robertson. Miller started the season at Long-A Kane County, where he struggled early, while all the others remained in extended spring training until the Short-Season clubs began play.

ANOTHER STACKED COACHING STAFF: The 2014 Hillsboro Hops had one of the best coaching staffs across Minor League Baseball, with J.R. House at the helm, Doug Drabek as the pitching coach, Mark Grace as the hitting coach, and Ben Petrick as a special consultant. Drabek and Petrick will reprise their roles with the Hops in 2015, while House has been promoted to run the Advanced-A Visalia Rawhide, who have already won the first half of the California League. Mark Grace was promoted to assistant hitting coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Taking over for Grace this year is Javier Colina, a 14-year minor-league veteran. Shelley Duncan takes over for the Hops in his first experience as a manager at any level.

YESTERDAY: Spokane evened up the series with a 4-2 walk-off victory over the Hops in the bottom of the 9th inning. Spokane C Tyler Sanchez launched a two-run shot off of Hops RHP Myles Smith to win the ballgame. It was the first home run of the year for the Spokane Indians. Coincidentally, Sanchez attended Hillsborough Community College.

GETTING THEIR FEET WET: Three of Arizona's first five selections in this year's First-Year Player Draft will begin their careers in the Northwest League with the Hillsboro Hops: 3rd round selection RHP Taylor Clarke, 4th round RHP Breckin Williams, and 5th round RHP Ryan Burr. First round selection IF Dansby Swanson (Vanderbilt) is still with his team competing in the College World Series, and has yet to sign a professional contract. Vanderbilt eliminated TCU in the College World Series two nights ago with a 7-1 victory. The Diamondbacks hold the rights to Frogs' LHP Alex Young, the team's 2nd round selection in the 2015 draft.

POWER IN A SMALL PACKAGE: Though standing just 5'8" tall and checking in at 170 pounds, IF Fernery Ozuna packs a punch. He hit a no-doubt 3- run home run last night to salt the game away for the Hops. Surprised? You shouldn't be. Ozuna hit 7 home runs in 73 games with Rookie League Missoula last year. The team high for Hillsboro last year was 6 (Gonzalez, Cron, Parr, and Trahan.)

ON THE AIR:

Hops games can be heard live on Rip City Radio 620 AM in Portland, and online at www.ripcityradio.com. Mobile listeners should download the iHeartRadio app.

Today's pregame show begins at 3:00. Matt Richert will call the action. ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Rich Burk's Short Hops: RichBurk.mlblogs.com The Hop Stove: www.hillsborohops.wordpress.com Hops on Facebook: facebook.com/HillsboroHops Hops on Twitter: @HillsboroHops, @RichBurk1, @BarleytheHop

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Northwest League Stories from June 22, 2015


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