Hops Leave Lump of Coal in Dust Devils' Christmas in July Stocking
NWL Tri-City Dust Devils

Hops Leave Lump of Coal in Dust Devils' Christmas in July Stocking

Published on July 26, 2025 under Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release


Tri-City Dust Devils at bat
Tri-City Dust Devils at bat
(Tri-City Dust Devils)

HILLSBORO - As they have when falling behind in the 2025 season the Tri-City Dust Devils (15-13 2H, 45-49) fought back and made things difficult for their opponents Friday night, but the Hillsboro Hops (7-21 2H, 40-54) held off their guests 8-5 on Christmas in July Night and clinched their share of at least a split of the week's six-game series.

Tri-City fell behind early, with Hillsboro tagging starter Keythel Key (3-6) for five runs in the first two innings and running up his pitch count before forcing his exit after just three innings of work. At the plate the Dust Devils struck for three leadoff solo home runs, the first coming from CF David Calabrese in the top of the 3rd off Hops hurler Daniel Eagen (5-5). His pull shot, which stayed fair down the right field line, got Tri-City on the board at 5-1. Two innings later, RF Rio Foster hit a mammoth blast off Eagen to the top of the berm in left field, making it a 6-2 game. Later, C Juan Flores opened the 8th inning by sending an offering from new Hillsboro reliever Victor Morales over the wall in left field, bringing the Dust Devils within four for a third time at 7-3.

The visitors applied more pressure in that frame, loading the bases to bring the potential tying run to the plate in 2B Adrian Placencia. He drew a bases loaded walk, getting the Dust Devils within three at 7-4, but the rally would stall after that. After the Hops grabbed an insurance run in the 8th, Tri-City managed to score a run in the 9th to narrow the gap and again get the tying run to the plate in 1B Ryan Nicholson. The lefty hit a hard grounder to second, with the out recorded to end the ballgame.

DUST DEVILS NOTES

-LF Anthony Scull (1-for-5, RBI groundout 9th) and Rio Foster (1-for-3, HR, BB) both extended hitting streaks to five games, and Foster extended his season-best on-base streak to 13 games.

-Reliever Logan Britt threw two scoreless innings out of the bullpen, covering the 6th and 7th innings with some help from his defense and striking out two. Britt won Tuesday's game with 1.1 scoreless frames, adding to a stellar relief week for the Aledo, Texas native.

-Despite the loss, Tri-City remains in a tie for second place in the NWL Second Half playoff race with Spokane. League leaders Eugene have put some space between themselves and the rest of the pack, with the Emeralds now seven games clear of both the Dust Devils and Indians.

WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND

Tri-City and Hillsboro clash in game five of their six-game series at 6:35 p.m. Saturday night at Hillsboro Ballpark. Right-hander Ryan Costeiu (3-5, 5.81 ERA) will go to the mound for the Dust Devils, countered by righty John West (5-6, 5.18 ERA) of the Hops.

You can listen to the game for free at dustdevilsbaseball.com and the MiLB app, with the Dust Devils Pregame Show beginning at 6:15 p.m.

After completing their last visit to Oregon in 2025, Tri-City heads home to host the Vancouver Canadians for six games starting at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday night, July 29, where it will be both Ben Hill Night presented by Circle K and a Coca-Cola Tuesday.

For tickets to the Vancouver series, and all 2025 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.

Check out the Tri-City Dust Devils Statistics

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Tri-City Dust Devils at bat
Tri-City Dust Devils at bat
   



Northwest League Stories from July 26, 2025


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