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NWL1 Hillsboro Hops

Hops Eke out Another Series Win

August 12, 2016 - Northwest League (NWL1)
Hillsboro Hops News Release


After another early outburst, it was quiet time for the Hops offense Thursday night. Fortunately, six runs in the first three innings proved to be enough to clinch a winning road trip...barely.

Boise scored a run in the ninth and loaded the bases against Hillsboro's All-Star closer Jake Winston before Willie Abreu grounded into a game-ending double play to send the Hops (9-5 2nd half, 28-24 overall) home with a 6-5 victory.

Hillsboro batted around in the second inning for the second consecutive night, scoring four runs to take a 5-1 lead. Boise pitcher Mike Bunal (0-2), making his first professional start after 14 appearances out of the bullpen, took the brunt of the damage.

Manny Jefferson doubled in Alexis Olmeda after back-to-back, on-out walks by Bunal. Stephen Dezzi, making his 2016 debut after a 50-game suspension by Major League Baseball, scored on a wild pitch. After fanning leadoff batter Jason Morozowski, Bunal plunked Mark Karaviotis to load the bases. Josh Anderson came up withtwo outs, facing Boise reliever Brandon Gold. Anderson hit a grounder toward third that jumped up and struck Boise third baseman Tyler Follis near the left temple. As Follis crumpled to the ground, the ball caromed to shortstop Garrett Hampson, who threw wildly to first. Two runs scored on the play and the Hops had a 5-1 lead. Follis stayed down for several minutes and had to be helped off the field.

In the third, the Hops tacked on another unearned run when Hampson booted Jefferson's two-out grounder to short, scoring Dezzi, who had doubled to center field. Boise (6-8, 22-30) answered with a 2-RBI single by Hampson in the bottom of the inning to make it 6-3 Hillsboro.

Hops starting pitcher Mack Lemieux had his strongest outing yet, fanning five batters with two walks and just one hit allowed in three innings. Lemieux came out after throwing 30 pitches in the third, his throwing error on Antony Brito's tapper to the mound leading to an unearned run.

Both bullpens were sharp. Wei-Chieh Huang (1-1), after two shaky starts, came out of the pen for the Hops in the fourth inning and went 3 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and one unearned run with six strikeouts and two walks.

Tyler Orris doubled to left with two outs in the seventh and scored when Josh Anderson threw high to first base on Hampson's grounder to third. After Huang walked cleanup hitter Jacob Bosiokovic, Colin Poche came on to face the left-hand hitting WIllie Abreu and struck him out, stranding the tying runs on base.

The Boise pen was magnificent. Gold struck out six batters without a walk in 2 1/3 innings before giving way to Austin Moore, who faced the minimum with three strikeouts in three innings. The Hops had one baserunner after the third inning, but Ben DeLuzio was thrown out trying to steal after a two-out single off Moore in the seventh. Justin Calomeni retired six Hops in a row in the eighth and ninth before Winston took over on the hill to pitch the last of the ninth inning for the Hops.

After Brito grounded out to short, leadoff batter Stephen Linkous hit a chopper to short that caromed off Karaviotis' glove for an infield hit. Orris walked on four pitches and Hampson followed with a drive to the left field wall for an RBI double, putting the tying and winning runs in scoring position with one out. WIth the cleanup hitter Bosiokovic at the plate, Winston fell behind in the count 2-0 before the Hops decided to put him on intentionally. That brought Abreu, a 6th round draft pick out of Miami, back to the plate. With the count 2-1, Abreu hit a bounder toward second that led Karaviotis pefectly to the bag. The former Ducks shortstop lobbed an easy lollipop to Ramon Hernandez at first as the Hops clinched their eighth series in the last nine to finish the road trip at 5-3.

Dezzi reached base twice and scored twice, going 1-for-3 in his Hillsboro debut. Anderson drove in two runs and extended his hitting streak to eight games. Karaviotis tripled and scored in the first inning, one night after hitting a double and a home run. Hampson went 3-for-5 with three RBI for Boise and Linkous scored three runs. The Hops and Hawks used eight pitchers and combined for 27 strikeouts.

Eugene beat Salem-Keizer 7-4 to stay tied wtih the Hops atop the NWL South Division standings. Three games now separate the league-leaders from third-place Boise with Salem-Keizer four games back.

The Hops return home to face the Vancouver Canadians in the first game of a five-game home series, starting at 7:05 p.m. Friday night. Pre-game airtime on Rip City Radio 620 AM is at 6:35 p.m. The game will also be telecast regionally on Comcast SportsNet Northwest starting at 7:00 p.m. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

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