Hops Halt Losing Streak with 10-9 Win Over Spokane
June 29, 2025 - Northwest League (NWL)
Hillsboro Hops News Release
(Hillsboro, OR)- After 10 straight losses, the Hillsboro Hops pulled off a thrilling victory after a back-and-forth battle against the Spokane Indians on Saturday night at Hillsboro Ballpark, taking the contest 10-9. Junior Franco powered the offense with two home runs and three RBI.
Yordin Chalas matched up against Lebarron Johnson Jr. for Spokane. Chalas pitched three innings, striking out six, walking two, and allowing four earned runs. Johnson Jr. pitched five innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits, walking three, and striking out four.
The Hops got on the board in the second inning, coming from a two-run homer by Junior Franco. He brought Druw Jones home, who had reached via base-on-balls.
Spokane responded in the top of the third, stringing together five hits and a walk to mount a four-run rally and take the lead. The offensive burst turned a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 advantage.
Ricardo Yan threw just one pitch after taking over for Chalas in the fourth, hitting the first batter he faced. With tensions high from the previous inning, where both teams were issued warnings, Yan was immediately ejected, along with Hops manager Mark Reed. Joangel Gonzalez entered in relief and successfully got the Hops out of the inning.
Jansel Luis hit a leadoff single to start the bottom of the fifth and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Druw Jones singled, and a fly-out from Junior Franco put runners on the corners. Kenny Castillo grounded out but scored Luis to inch closer to Spokane's lead 4-3.
Four hits in the fifth and a passed ball scored three runs to extend the Indian's lead to 7-3.
The Hops responded in the bottom half of the fifth, plating two runs to cut Spokane's lead to 7-5. Slade Caldwell led off with a single, followed by a base hit from Anderson Rojas. A walk to Angel Ortiz loaded the bases. A fielder's choice brought in one run, and with runners on the corners, Jansel Luis and Rojas executed a double steal. Luis swiped second and Rojas stole home to bring in the fifth run. Spokane added a run in the sixth, scoring on a balk by Hops pitcher Rocco Reid.
Down 8-5 in the bottom of the sixth, Junior Franco sparked the Hops' offense with a solo home run. Jackson Feltner followed with a triple, and Slade Caldwell drew a walk to put runners on the corners. A single from Rojas cut the deficit to 8-7, and Cristofer Torin followed with a game-tying RBI single. Ortiz kept the rally going with a go-ahead single, putting the Hops on top. Luis capped the inning with a sacrifice fly, extending the lead to 10-8.
For Hillsboro, Gonzalez pitched two innings, allowing three runs on four hits, two of them earned. He struck out three and walked one. Reid threw 2.1 innings, allowing one earned run. Edgar Isea pitched two-thirds of an inning, recording two strikeouts. Sam Knowlton entered the game in the top of the ninth, and with two outs hit back-to-back batters. A ground rule double scored one run to inch the Indians close to the Hop's lead of 10-9, but Knowlton struck out the final batter to end the game, and narrowly avoid the Hop's eleventh straight loss.
Junior Franco drove in three runs, going two-for-four at the plate with two home runs. Jones and Slade Caldwell both recorded two hits, and Rojas recorded three.
The final game of the series is on Sunday at 1:05 PM. The pregame show starts at 12:50 PM on RipCity Radio 620 AM.
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