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NWL Hillsboro Hops

Late Rally Leads Hops Back to First Place in NWL

June 3, 2022 - Northwest League (NWL)
Hillsboro Hops News Release


The Hillsboro Hops have collected a double digit hit total in each of their last two victories, but the paths to victory couldn't be much more divergent.

On the verge of being shut out Thursday night, the Hops (25-21) rallied for two runs in the top of the ninth to tie the score, then pushed across the winning run in the 11th for a 3-2 victory over the Tri-City Dust Devils (19-25) at Gesa Stadium in Pasco, Washington.

One night after obliterating the Devils with 14 runs and 19 hits in a 14-3 rout, Hillsboro collected half of its dozen hits in the ninth and extra innings to win its third straight game in the series. Combined with Spokane's 2-1 loss at Vancouver and a rain out in Everett, the Hops have now pulled into a virtual three-way tie for first with the Indians and Eugene Emeralds.

Tri-City plated two runs in the first inning when Gabe Matthews drove home his former Oregon teammate Kyle Kasser and Kyren Paris with a two-run single. The score remained 2-0 until the ninth, as Devils' starting pitcher Landon Marceaux kept the Hops off balance for seven innings, inducing an array of weak grounders, while limiting Hillsboro to five hits and no walks with four strikeouts.

After hulking reliever Dakota Donovan pitched a scoreless eighth, the Dust Devils sent right-handed closer Emilker Guzman and his 0.56 earned run average to the hill in the ninth. A.J. Vukovich slammed the first pitch of the inning into the right field corner for a double and Tim Tawa followed with an RBI single. After a walk to Adrian Del Castillo and a perfect sacrifice bunt by Ryan Bliss, the Hops had the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position with one out. Danny Oriente followed with a ground ball to third against the drawn-in Devils infield that deflected off Kenyon Yovan's glove for an error as Tawa raced home with the tying run. After a ten-pitch strikeout of Spencer Brickhouse, Guzman battled Tristin English for 13 pitches before getting an inning-ending ground out to Yovan to keep the game tied.

The Devils put two aboard with two outs on a walk and hit batsmen in the bottom of the inning, but Kyle Backhus fanned Paris to end the threat and force extra innings.

In the Hops half of the tenth, Channy Ortiz reached on a bunt base hit up the third base line very similar to Bliss' earlier sacrifice. With first and third none out, Zac Kristofak (1-1) struck out Caleb Roberts, then got Vukovich to fly out to shallow right before Tim Tawa flied out to right to end the inning.

Hillsboro turned to Liu Fuenmayor (3-1), who has pitched masterfully in extra innings on multiple occasions this year. The Venezuelan southpaw was again on top form as he retired the side in order with two strikeouts to force the game into the 11th

Hillsboro started the inning with Tawa at second and Del Castillo moved him up with a grounder to the right side. With the Tri-City infield once again playing close, Kristofak got a pitch in on the fists of Ryan Bliss, but the second-year shortstop got just enough muscle into it to bloop the ball over the head of Kasser at second as the bat died a hero with Tawa scoring the go-ahead run. The Hops would get two more hits in the inning, but Bliss was thrown out trying to steal keeping the lead at one entering the bottom of the 11th.

Fuenmayor got Peabody on a comebacker on the first pitch of the inning, then set Yovan down swinging at a slider. The number nine-hitting catcher Christian Molfetta was the last hope for the home team, but his sinking liner ended up in Bliss's glove as the Hops won their sixth extra inning game of the season without a loss.

Tawa had his third consecutive multi-hit game of the series, going 2-for-5 with a double, RBI and two runs scored. Roberts, English and Ortiz each had two hits, with Ortiz getting his first hits in a Hop uniform after coming up from Low-A Visalia last week.

The Hillsboro bullpen was brilliant Thursday night. After starting pitcher Luke Albright departed after five innings, Hugh Fisher, Dillon Larsen, Backhus and Fuenmayor combined for six, one-hit shutout innings to close out the contest.

Tri-City's 6-8 outfielder Edwin Yon ended a 1-for-24, 16 strikeout slump, going 3-for-5 at the plate. Paris had a pair of doubles and a run scored. Tied with Hillsboro for the best fielding position in the league entering the series, the Dust Devils were victimized by an error for the third consecutive game and have surrendered nine unearned runs in the series, with errors contributing directly to two of their losses.

Game four of the series is at 6:30 p.m. Friday night with pregame coverage beginning at 6:15 p.m. on Rip City Radio 620 AM.

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