Tri-City Beats Hillsboro, Wins 900th for Skipper
NWL Tri-City Dust Devils

Tri-City Beats Hillsboro, Wins 900th for Skipper

Published on July 23, 2025 under Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release


HILLSBORO - Tuesday night's series opener at Hillsboro Ballpark between the Tri-City Dust Devils (15-10 2H, 45-46) and the Hillsboro Hops (4-21 2H, 37-54) served as a microcosm of the 2025 Dust Devils squad, with Tri-City taking a punch but getting right back up and throwing one of their own in a 12-7 win over Hillsboro that gave manager Dann Bilardello his 900th career win.

A stew of singles and doubles from the Hops handed the Dust Devils a 4-0 deficit through an inning of play, but the visitors responded at their next opportunity by scoring seven runs off of Hillsboro starter Denny Larrondo (1-1) in the top of the 2nd. RF Randy De Jesus started things with a solo home run to right, cutting the Hops lead to 4-1. SS Capri Ortiz then restarted things with a two-out triple, scoring on an RBI double by C Juan Flores to get a run closer at 4-2. A walk drawn by 2B Adrian Placencia brought up CF Anthony Scull, who sent an RBI single to left center to make it a 4-3 game. 1B Ryan Nicholson followed by hitting a ball to right that bounced high off the turf over Hillsboro RF Angel Ortiz and past for a two-run triple, gaining Tri-City its first lead at 5-4. DH Matt Coutney then capped the seven-spot with a two-run opposite field home run to left field, his seventh longball against the Hops in 2025, pushing the Dust Devils lead to 7-4. 12 Tri-City hitters came to the plate in the frame.

Capri Ortiz grabbed another run in the 3rd after drawing a walk to lead off the inning. He swiped second for his team-leading 19th steal of the season, advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a balk to make it 8-4. Juan Flores added an RBI single in the top of the 5th, stretching the advantage to 9-4. Dust Devils starter Yeferson Vargas rebounded from his difficult first frame to get to the bottom of the 5th inning, giving up a fifth run and falling an out shy of becoming eligible for the win. Reliever Logan Britt (4-1) covered the final out of the 5th and worked the 6th inning, striking out a pair in his scoreless and winning outing.

Tri-City picked up three more runs in the top of the 7th for further breathing room. After loading the bases with one out, a second RBI single from Anthony Scull got the Dust Devils to double digits at 10-5. Ryan Nicholson then drew a bases loaded walk for an 11-5 lead, and Matt Coutney legged out a fielder's choice for a 12th run. The Hops picked up a run in both the 8th and the 9th, causing some late drama that Najer Victor resolved by getting the final out to strand the bases loaded and grab the save.

DUST DEVILS NOTES

-Manager Dann Bilardello's brother and sister came to Hillsboro to both attend and celebrate his 900th win, holding up a 9 and two 0 balloons in the seats for him to see postgame. Bilardello's first win as a skipper came in his first game at the helm of a club, a June 17, 2002 contest in which he led the Great Falls Dodgers to an 8-3 road victory over the Missoula Osprey. His counterpart that day: 2022-23 Tri-City manager "Cactus" Jack Howell, who also was leading a ballclub for the first time.

-Eight of the Dust Devils nine reached base in the contest. Five (Matt Coutney, Randy De Jesus, Juan Flores, Capri Ortiz and Anthony Scull) put together multi-hit games, and four (Coutney, Flores, Ryan Nicholson and Scull) drove in multiple runs on the night.

-Reliever Roman Phansalkar threw a scoreless inning, continuing a great start to a 2025 season delayed by injury. The righty and Oklahoma State baseball alum has not been charged with a run in his first nine outings of the season.

WORKING THROUGH THE CHEC-LIST

Tri-City and Hillsboro face off in game two of their six-game series at 6:35 p.m. tonight at Hillsboro Ballpark. Right-hander Jorge Marcheco (4-4, 4.23 ERA) will make the start for the Dust Devils, taking on righty Yordin Chalas (0-4, 6.80 ERA) of the Hops.

Free broadcast coverage, available at dustdevilsbaseball.com and the MiLB app, begins with the Dust Devils Pregame Show at 6:15 p.m.

After completing their last visit to Oregon in 2025, Tri-City heads home to host the Vancouver Canadians for six games starting Tuesday, July 29 at 7:05 p.m.

For tickets to the Vancouver series, and all 2025 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.

Check out the Tri-City Dust Devils Statistics



Northwest League Stories from July 23, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central