Nine Is Enough to Help Dust Devils Hold Off Indians
NWL Tri-City Dust Devils

Nine Is Enough to Help Dust Devils Hold Off Indians

Published on May 24, 2025 under Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release


Tri-City Dust Devils' Rio Foster at bat
Tri-City Dust Devils' Rio Foster at bat
(Tri-City Dust Devils)

SPOKANE VALLEY - Friday's night win included a bit of late drama for the Tri-City Dust Devils (21-21), but the visitors got it done in a 9-7 victory over the Spokane Indians (22-21) at Avista Stadium that brought the team's six-game series all square at two wins apiece.

Tri-City got on the board at their first opportunity, with DH Ben Gobbel striking a run-scoring fielder's choice and RF Randy De Jesus continuing to make his hits count by lining an RBI double down the left field line that scored Gobbel for a 2-0 lead. Spokane tied the game in the bottom of the 1st by plating a pair of runs, but starter Keythel Key (1-3) held the line by inducing three groundouts.

The Dust Devils then scored a run in the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings, first with an RBI double by 3B Matt Coutney that gave Tri-City the lead for good. SS Arol Vera wore a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded in the 4th and CF Alexander Ramirez hit a soaring ball to right that fell a few feet over the wall for a solo home run, making it 5-2 midway through. The Indians then quickly scrounged up two more runs in the bottom of the 5th, but Key got through the 5th to be eligible for his first win of the year.

The visitors added an insurance run in the 8th on 2B Capri Ortiz's solo homer over the short wall in right, pushing the advantage to 6-4, before getting three more in the 9th via an error-plagued Spokane defense to lead 9-4. The team would need almost every bit of that buffer when the Indians scored three in the bottom of the 9th, but closer A.J. Block came in and got the final out to clinch the win and his tenth save of the year.

DUST DEVILS NOTES

-LF Rio Foster had his best day at the plate as a pro, putting up four hits including a triple in the 8th and an RBI single in the 9th. The Athens, Georgia native got his quartet of hits in his last four plate appearances, getting out only once on a hard-hit line drive sent right to a Spokane defender. The four-hit effort also marked the first four-hit game for the Dust Devils since C Juan Flores did it in a game September 4th, 2024, at Gesa Stadium against Hillsboro.

-Tri-City had 13 hits in the game, setting a new team single-game high for 2025. 1B Ryan Nicholson (2-4, BB, R) and Capri Ortiz (2-5, solo HR) joined Rio Foster with multi-hit games Friday.

-Relievers Jake Smith and Sam Ryan both faced bases loaded situations late in the game but got out of them, the latter helped by lefty Leonard Garcia in the 8th. The Indians left the bases loaded in both the 7th and 8th frames due to manager Dann Bilardello's relief corps executing pitches with solid defense behind them.

"C" IS FOR CORTEZ...THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME

Game Five of Tri-City and Spokane's six-game series gets an earlier start time at Avista Stadium, slated for 5:09 p.m. Saturday evening in a nod to eastern Washington's area code. Right-hander Chris Cortez (1-1, 3.35 ERA) gets the start for the Dust Devils, countered by Indians righty McCade Brown (0-0, 1.88 ERA).

Broadcast coverage, available for free at dustdevilsbaseball.com and the MiLB app, begins with the Dust Devils Pregame Show at 4:50 p.m.

The Dust Devils return after the Spokane series for a two-week homestand beginning Tuesday, May 27th. The Eugene Emeralds come to town first for a six-game series, going through June 1st, before the Vancouver Canadians return for six starting June 3rd.

For tickets to games on the upcoming homestand and for all 2025 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.

Check out the Tri-City Dust Devils Statistics

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Images from this story

Tri-City Dust Devils' Rio Foster at bat
Tri-City Dust Devils' Rio Foster at bat
   



Northwest League Stories from May 24, 2025


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