Miller Shatters Hops' Losing Streak
Published on June 30, 2015 under Northwest League (NWL1)
Hillsboro Hops News Release
VANCOUVER, B.C. --- After three straight losses, the Hops needed a breakthrough.
They got it from left-hander Jared Miller, the second-year pro from Vanderbilt University. He threw eight scoreless innings against the Vancouver Canadians, allowing just two runners into scoring position, in a 7-0 win. Miller gave up three hits, walked two and struck out one.
Hops batters --- and shaky Vancouver defense --- gave Miller all he would need before he ever took the mound. Zach Nehrir led off the game with an infield hit, and one out later, Luis Veras singled to left. Hops manager Shelley Duncan rolled the dice on a double-steal, and Trevor Mitsui pulled a shot to third. Vancouver third baseman Ryan Metzler, in his haste to beat Nehrir to the third-base bag, let the ball go under his glove for an error. Two runs scored on the play, and Mitsui later scored on a Dane McFarland sacrifice fly.
Hillsboro added three more in the third. Veras pulled one directly over the left-field foul pole for his first home run. Mitsui reached base on another error, then scored on McFarland's double to left-center. A balk sent McFarland to third, and he scored on the second of Alexis Olmeda's three singles.
Nehrir capped the scoring with an RBI single in the sixth.
Right-hander Ryan Burr worked a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out two, to finish the game. The Hops (6-6) remain in a first-place tie in the South Division.
The five-game series concludes at 7:05 PM on Tuesday night. Hillsboro comes home to face Eugene for a three-game set Wednesday-Friday, July 1-3, all games at 7:05.
Author's note: As play-by-play announcer for nearly 2,000 professional baseball games, I've seen many things. But I had never seen this. In the bottom of the second inning, Vancouver's Sean Hurley fouled a ball through the glass on the front of my broadcast location, shattering it and raining glass shards all over the booth. We were knocked off the air for a couple of innings (thanks to Canadians broadcaster Rob Fai for allowing us to carry his broadcast during that time). Other than a few cuts on my laptop screen, everything appears to be okay.
Whew.
And as I type, the baseball is in my back pocket.
Northwest League Stories from June 30, 2015
- Jebavy Smashes Home Run; Teammates Holding Ball for Ransom - Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- Miller Shatters Hops' Losing Streak - Hillsboro Hops
- Daza Dazzles as Hawks Fall to Aquasox - Boise Hawks
- AquaSox Capitalize on Hawks' Mistakes - Everett AquaSox
- CMIT Solutions Honored as OnDeck Small Business of the Month - Everett AquaSox
- Hops Call for 'Miller Time' en Route to 7-0 Victory - Vancouver Canadians
- Volcanoes Can't Find Offense in Loss - Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- Volcanoes Outlast Indians in Wild One - Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
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