Melendez Hits First, Hops HR in 9-1 Loss at Spokane
May 10, 2023 - Northwest League (NWL)
Hillsboro Hops News Release
Ivan Melendez was college baseball's home run champion in 2022 with a record-setting 32 dingers for the Texas Longhorns before the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted the El Paso native in the 2nd round last year.
After a slow start to the season, including ten days on the injured list in concussion protocol after being hit in the eye with a pitch in Eugene, the "Hispanic Titanic" blasted his first home run as a Hop Tuesday night, the lone highlight in a 9-1 loss to the Spokane Indians in the first game of a 12-game road trip at Avista Stadium.
Melendez's majestic blast--111mph off the bat with a 36-degree launch angle--as impressively high as it was long, led off the 7th inning. The game was far out of reach by then and had been for a while.
The Tribe hit two of their own, with the Northwest League's hottest hitter, Jordan Beck, smashing his league-leading eighth of the season. Beck, the reigning NWL Player Of The Week, drove in two and scored two runs as the Tribe outhit the Hops 10-3, putting the game out of reach with a five-run first inning. The cleanup hitter from the University of Tennessee drew a bases-loaded walk from Hop starting pitcher Yilber Diaz (0-4) as the first five Indians batters reached base before Yanquiel Fernandez grounded out to third. That would be the final batter for Diaz, who allowed two hits, two walks and a hit batter over 1/3 of an inning in his shortest career outing.
Will Mabrey took over from Diaz and hit the next batter, Zach Kokoska. After Fernendez broke early for third and was thrown out by Mabrey, the southpaw from Tennessee slipped on his windup, balking Kokoska to second. Ben Sems followed with an RBI single to right to complete Spokane's five-run first.
After retiring the side in order in the second, Beck retired one batter in the third inning before giving way to Eric Mendez, denying the former Volunteer hurler an opportunity to face his former college teammate. Beck rocketed a 1-0 Mendez pitch outside the left field foul pole, then squared up a change-up to hit a missile over the left field fence, extending his current hitting streak to 11 games. Alll eight of Beck's homers have come during that stretch.
Kokoska added a two-run shot off the scoreboard in right center off Mendez in the fifth inning to give Spokane a 9-0 lead before Melendez's titanic homer off Tyler Ras in the seventh, estimated at more than 475 feet, provided the Hops with their only run.
Former Gonzaga hurler Gabriel Hughes (2-2), the 10th overall pick in the 2022 draft, tossed six one-hit innings with a career-high nine strikeouts and two walks to earn the win, overpowering the Hops with an upper-90s fastball. Hillsboro's only scoring threat against Hughes came in the first inning after Melendez drew a two-out walk and J.J. D'Orazio doubled off the base of the wall in right center field. Hughes fanned Jesus Valdez on three pitches to end the threat, the first of 13 straight batters retired by the Eagle, Idaho native.
J.J. D'Orazio had two of Hillsboro's three hits on the night, including an opposite field double in the first inning.
Hillsboro will try and snap a three-game losing streak in game two of the series Wednesday. Pregame coverage begins at 6:20 p.m. with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on 620 Rip City Radio. The start of Tuesday night's game was delayed 51 minutes by rain, but weather is not expected to be an issue for the remainder of the week, with temperatures reaching the mid-80s by the weekend.
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- Melendez Hits First, Hops HR in 9-1 Loss at Spokane - Hillsboro Hops
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