Hops' Pitching Walks 14 in Blowout Loss
NWL Hillsboro Hops

Hops' Pitching Walks 14 in Blowout Loss

Published on April 20, 2026 under Northwest League (NWL)
Hillsboro Hops News Release


Pasco, WA - The Hops entered the final game of the series with a chance to escape Pasco with a series split. Their pitching had other plans, as Hops pitchers walked 14 batters in the 16-3 blowout loss. Tri-City starter Yeferson Vargas threw seven scoreless innings, including retiring the final 13 batters of his outing and Randy De Jesus added a grand slam to cap off a nine-run third inning in the Dust Devils' win.

Tri-City took control in the first inning by drawing multiple walks against Caden Grice who walked the bases loaded with nobody out. With the bases loaded, Juan Flores hit a double that cleared the bases and gave the Dust Devils an early lead. Grice recorded just two outs in the game and was replaced by Joangel Gonzalez in the first. Gonzalez would be the first of six relievers used in the game by the Hops.

Yeferson Vargas allowed a base runner in each of the three innings, but would get help from a caught stealing and inning-ending double play to keep Hillsboro off the board.

The Dust Devils blew the game open in the third inning with their biggest inning of the season. Tri-City sent 12 batters to the plate, as the Hops had to make two pitching changes in the frame. Five walks and four hits later, they had a nine-run inning. Randy De Jesus capped things off with a grand slam off Zane Russell, making it 12-0.

After this stretch, Hillsboro's pitching staff settled into a more consistent pattern. Relief appearances from Adonys Perez and Nate Savino helped limit further scoring by Tri-City. Perez had one of the pitching highlights of the game as he threw 8 straight strikes and just missed an immaculate inning by throwing a ball on his ninth pitch.

Over the middle innings, the Dust Devils produced fewer baserunners and did not add significantly to their total thanks to the productive relief from Perez and Savino. At the same time, Hillsboro's offense was contained by Yeferson Vargas, who worked through multiple innings without allowing any runs. Vargas would go on to throw seven scoreless innings, but did not strike out a Hops' batter. Every out the Hops recorded offensively against the Tri City starter was a groundball or flyball out.

Hillsboro's most productive inning came in the eighth once Vargas exited. The rally began with a walk by Kenny Castillo, followed by a single from Modeifi Marte. Wallace Clark then hit a double that drove in a run and put additional pressure on the defense. Adrian Rodriguez followed with a sacrifice fly that brought in two runs, including scoring Wallace Clark from second base on a sacrifice fly. During the inning, Hillsboro also benefited from a catcher interference call, which extended the inning and allowed more batters to reach base. The Hops were able to score several runs and reduce the margin.

Tri-City responded in the bottom half of the eighth inning. Randy De Jesus recorded another extra-base hit, this time a double that drove in a run and made it 16-3.

In the ninth, Tri-City made a pitching change to Dylan Phillips. He retired all three batters he faced. Brady Counsell recorded a pop out in foul territory, Kenny Castillo struck out swinging, and Modeifi Marte grounded out to end the game.

The Hops will welcome the league-leading Eugene Emeralds to the new Hops Ballpark starting on Tuesday. Game one of the series will be a 6:35 first pitch with the pregame show starting at 6:20 on Rip City Radio 620 and Bally Live.

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Northwest League Stories from April 20, 2026


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