Hops Blank Tribe For 4th Straight Win
August 23, 2016 - Northwest League (NWL1)
Hillsboro Hops News Release
The Hillsboro Hops got a combined shutout from four pitchers and strung together three hits with two outs in the fifth inning for the only run of the game in a 1-0 win over the Spokane Indians at Ron Tonkin Field.
The Hops remain three games behind Eugene in the NWL South Division standings and four games ahead of Salem-Keizer with 14 games remaining in the regular season. The Boise Hawks slipped five games back of the Hops with a loss at Vancouver.
Josh Anderson drove in Jason Morozowski with a base hit to center field, after Morozowski and Mark Karaviotis had back to back singles off Spokane starting pitcher Demarcus Evans (0-1). The 19-year-old, 6-4, 240 pound righthander from Petal, Mississippi struck out six batters without a walk in 4 2/3 innings and had allowed only two hits in the game until the Hops' two-out flurry.
Hillsboro's Junior Garcia (3-1) pitched out of a second and third, one out jam in the fifth inning with back-to-back strikeouts of the top two batters in Spokane's order, Leody Taveras and Brallan Perez. Garcia left the game with two outs in the sixth, having allowed three hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Riley Smith got the final out in the sixth with a runner at second. and pitched a scoreless seventh with two strikeouts.
Tommy Eveld issued a leadoff walk to Perez in the eighth, but he was cut down at second trying to steal by Hops' catcher Luke Lowery. After Eveld struck out cleanup batter Luis Terrero to end the eighth, Curtis Taylor came on to pitch the ninth and struck out the side for his third save in three opportunities.
Morozowski had two hits for the Hops to extend his hitting streak to seven games. Center fielder Ben DeLuzio saw his seven-game hit streak come to an end, but made a big diving catch in the sixth inning for the second night in a row, robbing Charles LeBlanc of a leadoff base hit. The next batter Luis Terrero beat out an infield hit to short and went to second base when the throw bounced into the stands. The Indians would have had runners at second and third and none out. Instead, Garcia got Chad Smith to pop out to short and Smith came on to retire Preston Scott on a grounder to first.
Terrero had two of the Indians' four hits in the game. The Indians were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and are 2-for-22 for the series with runners at second or third.
The Hops try to extend their season-long winning streak to five games Tuesday night when they take on the Indians at 7:05 p.m. in game four of the series. Pre-game airtime is at 6:35 p.m. on Rip City Radio 620 AM.
Northwest League Stories from August 23, 2016
- Missed Opportunities Doom Dust Devils - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Marshall And Volcanoes Shutout Tri-City - Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- Hops Blank Tribe For 4th Straight Win - Hillsboro Hops
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