Hops Falter in 9th, Lose Tiebreaker Edge at Spokane
June 9, 2025 - Northwest League (NWL)
Hillsboro Hops News Release
SPOKANE VALLEY, Wasn. -- The English word "agony" is derived from a Greek word for ancient athletic contests between boxers and wrestlers. Its most well-known contemporary use in an athletic context is the memorable opening title sequence of ABC's Wide World Of Sports, which featured a ski jumper losing his balance and spinning off the end of the ramp.
The Hillsboro Hops (30-27) had an "agony of defeat" moment to rival any other in recent memory Sunday at Spokane. Down 8-6 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Indians (29-28) rallied for three consecutive hits from the bottom of the order, then won the game on a balk assessed to a pitcher that never threw a pitch.
The unlikely victory salvaged way more than a series split for the home team. Spokane also clinched a tiebreaker advantage over the Hops should the two teams finish in a dead heat in the Northwest League's first-half standings.
Currently, the Hops hold a slim one-game lead over Spokane and Vancouver with nine games to be played before a first-half champion is crowned and a championship series berth awarded. Both Spokane and Vancouver would earn that playoff berth in case of a tie.
The blame for the Hops last two losses falls squarely on the pitching staff, with two sub-par performances from starters and off-nights from normally reliable relievers. Hillsboro won three consecutive games at Spokane after dropping the opening game of the series and had two chances to clinch a series win and the tiebreaker edge, but dropped consecutive games in which they scored a combined 16 runs and totaled 27 hits.
In the entire 2024 season, the Hops lost only two games where they scored more than six runs and only had 11 hits total in those two combined losses. They have now dropped three games in 2025 in which they have scored eight or more runs. In Hillsboro's four June defeats, the Hops have averaged 6.8 runs and 10.8 hits per game.
The lead changed hands three times Sunday. The Indians knocked starting pitcher Yordin Chalas around for seven hits and three runs in the first three innings, finding the heart of the barrel repeatedly against the converted reliever. But after Spokane plated two in the first inning, the Hops came back with a vengeance in the top half of the third.
After back-to-back singles by Kevin Sim and Anderdson Rojas, Cristofer Torin grounded to the normally reliable third baseman Skyler Messinger, whose throw to second went wide of the mark into left field, allowing Sim to score the Hops first run. Ryan Waldschmidt jumped on Konner Eaton's very next pitch, rocketing a three-run homer over the wall in left, his second three-run jack and third home run of the series.
Trailing 4-3 in the fifth, Spokane plated two runs on a pair of hits and a walk off lefty reliever Nate Savino, who had only allowed one earned run in his previous 11 Hillsboro appearances. Through five innings, Spokane held a 5-4 lead on nine hits, five of them doubles.
Still trailing 5-4 in the seventh inning, Torin greeted Spokane reliever Francis Rivera with a double into the left field corner on his very first pitch of the frame. Rivera plunked Waldschmidt, then a passed ball on catcher Darius Perry moved the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position with none out. One out later, Jackson Feltner smacked his second three-run homer of the series.
With two outs and the bases clear, the Hops rallied for what appeared at the time to be an extremely useful insurance run. Druw Jones doubled down the right field line and Gavin Logan said "good day" to reliever Alan Perdomo by lacing his first pitch of the game up the middle for an RBI single, giving the Hops an 8-5 lead.
Spokane opened the bottom half of the seventh with consecutive hits off Hops righty Ricardo Yan, but cleanup hitter Braylen Wimmer bounced into a double play. With Charlie Condon at third and two down, Yan walked Andy Perez (.057 bb rate, 85th out of 94 NWL players that have swung a bat this year). Out went Yan and in came Eli Saul, who promptly surrendered an RBI single to Messinger to cut the HIllsboro lead to 8-6.
The Hops pulled a Houdini act in the eighth after Saul issued back-to-back one-out walks to pinch-hitting Cole Messina and leadoff hitter Jared Thomas. Big Sam Knowlton (0-2), who recorded his first High-A save on Wednesday, came on and walked Condon to load the bases with one out. But Knowlton got one of the NWL's most productive hitters, Aidan Longwell, to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play to escape the jam unharmed.
Back on the hill with a two-run lead in the ninth, Knowlton hit WImmer on a 2-1 pitch to bring the tying run to the plate. But the flamethrowing righty from Warrior, Alabama blew away Perez on three pitches, sending a 100 mph heater past his bat. Then Messinger went down swinging, bringing Spokane down to its final out.
To this point in the game, the top four batters in Spokane's order had gone 9-for-16 at the plate with four doubles, while the bottom three in the order were 1-for-11 with four strikeouts. But number seven hitter Jesus Bugarin rifled a 2-2 Knowlton pitch into centerfield for an RBI single, scoring Wimmer and putting the tying run on base.
With the score 8-7 now, E.J. Andrews, a .169 hitter on the season, sent a 1-2 Knowlton offering rolling down the third base line. Instead of allowing the ball to potentially go foul, Rojas made an ill-fated attempt to throw out Andrews at first base. With the tying and winning runs aboard, both having given way to speedier baserunners, Messina pulled a ground ball into right field to plate Caleb Hobson, evening the score at 8-8.
Up stepped leadoff batter Thomas, who entered the week as the NWL's leading hitter, only giving up the top spot because Vancouver's Jackson Hornung reached the minimum number of plate appearances to qualify for the batting race. The Texas Longhorn second-rounder was 0-for-4 on the afternoon, having not made more than two consecutive outs in the previous seven games.
With the count 3-2, Thomas fouled off a pair of Knowlton pitches before earning a nine-pitch walk to load the bases. That would be it for Knowlton as Hops manager Mark Reed summoned another hard-throwing righty, Edgar Isea from the bullpen.
With the top-rated Northwest League prospect Condon at the plate, the bases chuck and the winning run 90 feet away, the 2024 Golden Spikes Award winner barely had time to dig in at the box, as Isea flinched badly enough to catch both umpires' attention and send Tribe manager Robinson Cancel into a St. Vitus' Dance.
Bryson Hammer (1-0) limited Hillsboro to a lone single, striking out one over the eighth and ninth innings to earn the victory. Knowlton suffered his first blown save since recently taking over a high-leverage role.
Condon, Longwell and Wimmer each had three hits and combined to score seven of Spokane's nine runs on Sunday. For the week, that trio of All-Star-caliber offensive players, along with Thomas, combined to hit .410 with seven doubles, four homers, 19 RBI and 23 runs, drawing 17 walks against 16 strikeouts.
For Hillsboro, Torin went 3-for-4 with a double, walk and two runs scored, finishing a fine week (11-25-7r-2d-5rbi-3bb-k-3sb) in which he started every game at shortstop in the leadoff position. Logan matched a career-high with three hits, including a double.
The Hops had a pair of three-run homers in the same game for the second time in the series and only the seventh time in club history. Waldschmidt ended a more than month-long HR drought with three dingers in the series and with 38 RBI on the season trails only league-leader Laz Montes (39) of Everett. Longwell also has 38 RBI with teammates Wimmer (36) and Thomas (34) ranking fourth and fifth respectively.
The Hops return to Hillsboro Ballpark after a day off Monday to host the Eugene Emeralds. The first game of the six-game series is at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday night, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:20 p.m. on Rip City Radio 620 AM. Saturday's game will be televised live locally on Portland's CW.
Northwest League Stories from June 9, 2025
- Nick Goodwin Named NWL Player of the Week - Vancouver Canadians
- Ryan Hawks Named NWL Pitcher of the Week - Everett AquaSox
- Hops Falter in 9th, Lose Tiebreaker Edge at Spokane - Hillsboro Hops
- AquaSox Shut out in Series Finale - Everett AquaSox
- Seven Unlucky Number for Dust Devils Sunday - Tri-City Dust Devils
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
