NWL Tri-City Dust Devils

Tri-City Figures Eight Is Enough, Takes Down Hillsboro

Published on May 15, 2024 under Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release


Tri-City Dust Devils shortstop Caleb Ketchup
Tri-City Dust Devils shortstop Caleb Ketchup
(Tri-City Dust Devils)

Shut down in their first six at-bats, the Tri-City Dust Devils (15-18) posted an eight-run 7th inning to storm back for an 8-4 win over the Hillsboro Hops Tuesday night at Gesa Stadium.

The win gave Tri-City its fourth straight victory, extending their longest winning streak of 2024, and moved the team within four games of first place in the Northwest League First Half playoff race.

DH Cam Williams, originally not in the lineup, led off the bottom of the 7th with a line drive that flew over Hillsboro LF Jack Hurley and rolled to the wall for a double. He then scored a batter later when 1B Mason Martin lined an RBI single to right-center to get the Dust Devils on the board and within two at 3-1 and, after the first out of the inning, C Ronaldo Flores drew a one-out walk that put two on and triggered a pitching change.

That brought SS Caleb Ketchup to the plate who, after both runners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, laced a two-run double off a pitch from Hillsboro hurler Jhosver Alvarez (0-1) to left-center to pick up Martin and Flores and tie the game at 3-3. Ketchup then advanced to third on a throwing error by Alvarez, and RF Jorge Ruiz walked to put runners on the corners.

2B Ben Gobbel then stepped up and hit a grounder to the left side of the infield that deflected off a glove and allowed Ketchup to score. The infield single gave Gobbel his 19th RBI of the season and pushed the Dust Devils lead to two at 5-3. CF Jadiel Sanchez followed with a single to left that loaded the bases for 3B Matt Coutney, who singled to left-center to plate two more runs for a 7-3 advantage. Coutney later scored on a wild ball four to finish off the eight-run 7th, the highest-scoring inning for Tri-City so far in 2024.

Southpaw Quinton Martinez (1-0) got the win for Tri-City in relief, going 1.1 scoreless innings and allowing only a hit and a walk, and righty Ryan Langford threw a scoreless 6th to slow the Hops attack. Starter Walbert Ureña got a no-decision for the Dust Devils, going 5.1 innings and working around seven walks to give his team a chance to win late. Hillsboro starter Joe Elbis went an out longer, also getting a no-decision for throwing 5.2 scoreless innings and giving up only three hits.

Caleb Ketchup helped lead the offense by going 3-for-4 with a double and his two game-tying RBI. Ben Gobbel, picking up from where he left off in Eugene, went 2-5 with two RBI, and both Matt Coutney and Mason Martin drove in two on a 1-4 evenings. Reliever Willian Suarez got the final three outs to open the series with a win and to bring Tri-City within three games of .500.

The Dust Devils and Hops will meet for a matinee game two of their six-game series at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon at Gesa Stadium, where fans signed up will enjoy an all-you-can-eat ballpark lunch grilled by Executive Vice President/General Manager Derrel Ebert. If you'd like to join, more information can be found HERE. Also, you can contact or visit the main office when it opens at 10:00 a.m.

Tri-City sends right-hander Chris Clark (0-3, 4.70 ERA) to the bump, and Hillsboro will counter with left-hander Spencer Giesting (1-2, 1.00 ERA). Broadcast coverage of the game begins with the pregame show at 1:10 p.m, both here and with video coverage in the MiLB Zone of the Bally Live app and MiLB.tv.

Tickets for the Hillsboro series are on sale now, with special ticket rates available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on Dust Devils single game, season, mini-plan (11, 22, 33) and group tickets, visit the team's official ticketing site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.

Check out the Tri-City Dust Devils Statistics

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Tri-City Dust Devils shortstop Caleb Ketchup
Tri-City Dust Devils shortstop Caleb Ketchup
   



Northwest League Stories from May 15, 2024


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