Hops Walk off with First Series Win of Season
Published on June 30, 2016 under Northwest League (NWL1)
Hillsboro Hops News Release
Matt Railey of the Hillsboro Hops
(Hillsboro Hops, Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer/Hillsboro Hops)
HILLSBORO, OR - The Hillsboro Hops vs Salem-Kaiser Volcanoes at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro, OR June 28, 2016. (Craig Mitchelldyer/Hillsboro Hops) (Craig Mitchelldyer/Hillsboro Hops)
Salem-Keizer relievers Cesar Yanez and Rayan Hernandez had not allowed a run or walked a batter in a combined eight appearances and 12 1/3 innings pitched this season. But the Hillsboro Hops got to walking in the late innings and clinched their first series victory of the season.
A leadoff walk from Yanez in the seventh led to the tying run and a single and two walks in the ninth set up Matt Railey for the game-winning infield hit with two outs in a 4-3 victory over the Volcanoes (6-7).
For the first time this season, the Hops (5-8) have back-to-back victories and a series win as they've taken the first two games of the three-game set against the Volcanoes.
The Hillsboro bullpen continued to impress. Tucker Ward made his Northwest League-leading sixth appearance and tossed two scoreless innings. Jake Winston (1-0) came on in the eighth and retired six of seven batters to face him with five strikeouts and no walks.
The Salem-Keizer pen could not hold a 3-1 lead. Volcanoes' starting pitcher Raffi Vizcaino departed after five innings, having struck out six batters with three hits and two walks allowed. One of those three hits was Justin Chigbogu's first Hillsboro home run. The 6-1, 260 pound first baseman, who joined the Diamondbacks organization after belting 53 home runs in four years in the Dodgers system, cleared the left field wall in the fourth against an infield shift designed to keep the southpaw slugger from pulling the ball to the right side.
Luke Lowery led off the sixth inning with a pop-up behind first base that fell in fair between three Volcanoes players. A one-out single by Alexis Olmeda and a two-out walk to Railey loaded the bases. Sergio Alcantara, considered to have the best strike zone discipline among the Diamondbacks' top prospects, overcame an 0-2 count to draw a walk against Salem-Keizer reliever Caleb Simpson to pull the Hops within 3-2. Jason Morozowski followed with a grounder toward the shortstop hole, but third baseman Manuel Geraldo picked up the short hop and gunned him down to end the inning.
Marcus Wilson walked off Yanez to lead off the seventh and promptly stole second base, advancing to third on Josh Anderson's fly out to medium center field. Luke Lowery followed with a fly ball to right field. Heath Quinn, a 3rd-rounder out of Samford and the highest 2016 draft pick on the Volcanoes roster, dropped back and came in to set up for a throw to the plate, but dropped the ball as Wilson scampered home with the game-tying run. Lowery would make it to third base after a Chigbogu single and a stolen base, but was thrown out at home on an attempted double steal as Olmeda struck out to end the inning.
The Hops put two on with two out in the eighth against Hernandez (0-1), but could not score. In the ninth, Anderson lashed a single to right and Lowery and Chigbogu drew back-to-back walks to load the bases with nobody down. But Olmeda lined out sharply to left and pinch-hitter Manny Jefferson fanned on three pitches, bringing Railey to the plate with the sacks jammed and two out. A 2014 3rd-round draft pick out of high school in Florida, Railey, who delivered a two-out, two-RBI single in Tuesday night's win, hit a 3-1 chopper toward second base. Chigbogu hustled in to second, leaving Volcanoes' second baseman Kevin Rivera with only one option. He couldn't nab the speedy Railey as Anderson scored the winning run.
Chigbogu went 2-for-4, reaching base three times and was the exuberant ringleader of a jubilant celebration in right field as the whole team mobbed Railey in right field, spraying him with various liquids. Olmeda and Morozowski also had a pair of hits. The Hops reached ten hits in consecutive games for the first time this season and produced more than six hits in consecutive games for the first time since the opening series against Salem-Keizer.
Salem Keizer scored two of its three runs in an ugly first inning that featured two errors and three walks by Hillsboro starting pitcher Jefferson Mejia. Mejia settled down and pitched well over the next four frames, departing after five innings after allowing five hits and two earned runs with six strikeouts and the three free passes.
The Hops go for the series sweep Thursday night with a big crowd expected for "Star Wars" night at Ron Tonkin Field. Game time is 7:05 p.m. with the radio pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Rip City Radio 620 AM.
Images from this story
 Matt Railey of the Hillsboro Hops (Craig Mitchelldyer/Hillsboro Hops) |
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