Vancouver Skies Rain On, End Dust Devils Comeback Attempt
April 15, 2023 - Northwest League (NWL)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release
Tri-City Dust Devils shortstop Arol Vera steps to the plate
(Tri-City Dust Devils)
British Columbia rains dealt a bad break to the Tri-City Dust Devils (2-6) Saturday afternoon, stopping a 6th inning rally and handing the Vancouver Canadians (4-1) a 5-3 win at Nat Bailey Stadium.
The umpires called the game, official by rule after five innings, after a light mist at first pitch slowly grew into a steady rain which first delayed the game with two outs in the top of the 6th inning. At the time the Dust Devils had the potential tying runs on base and the possible go-ahead run coming to the plate.
A back-and-forth game took place before the rain halted action. The Canadians drew first blood in the 1st inning off Tri-City starter Bryce Osmond (0-2), with both runs coming home on a 2-run single by Vancouver RF Gabby Martinez.
The Dust Devils would even the score, though, in the top of the 3rd. 3B Casey Dana drew a leadoff walk, with RF D'Shawn Knowles also drawing a free pass with one out. After a groundout, 2B Arol Vera came up and mashed a double midway up the center field fence.
Dana and Knowles both scored, making the game a 2-2 tie.
The Canadians retook the lead in the bottom of the 4th inning. Three straight hits from the bottom of the order restored a two-run advantage, the last two back-to-back RBI doubles from C Jommer Hernandez and 2B Estiven Machado.
A 4-2 Vancouver lead grew further in the 5th inning when 1B Riley Tirotta, who started the 4th inning rally with a single, added an RBI hit to plate SS Alex de Jesus and push the Canadians lead to 5-2.
The Dust Devils started again down the comeback trail in the top of the 6th. Vera opened the inning with a single to right field, his second hit of the game. CF Joe Stewart then doubled off the wall near the right field line, putting runners at second and third with one out.
LF Steven Rivas came up, hitting a fly ball to left field off Vancouver reliever Connor Benson (1-0). Vera scored to get the Dust Devils back within two at 5-3. DH Gustavo Campero stepped in with two out and was hit by a Benson pitch, which ended up the final pitch of the game.
By then conditions had deteriorated to the point where the field was judged unplayable. After a 30-minute rain delay the game was called, unfortunately handing Tri-City its third straight defeat.
The loss came despite multi-hit games from both Arol Vera and D'Shawn Knowles, with Knowles reaching base in all three plate appearances.
Weather permitting, the Dust Devils and Canadians will clash in the final game of their six-game series at 1:05 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (0-0, 0.00 ERA) is slated for his second start of the series for Tri-City. Vancouver will counter with righty Michael Dominguez, making his 2023 debut. Pregame coverage will begin at 12:45 p.m. at dustdevilsbaseball.com and the MiLB First Pitch app.
Rain, however, is in the Sunday forecast. Any updates regarding the game's status will come via the team's social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).
Tri-City returns home to Gesa Stadium for a six-game series with their Inland Northwest rivals the Spokane Indians beginning Tuesday, April 18, which includes a 1:30 p.m. matinee on Wednesday, April 19th.
Tickets for the series with Spokane are on sale now, with special ticket rates are 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 dustdevilsbaseball.com, call the team office at (509) 544-8789, or visit the team office (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on game nights, or Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. otherwise).
Images from this story
 Tri-City Dust Devils shortstop Arol Vera steps to the plate |
Northwest League Stories from April 15, 2023
- Everett Bats Explode in 20-Run Barrage - Hillsboro Hops
- Vancouver Skies Rain On, End Dust Devils Comeback Attempt - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Clutch Hits Lead C's to Rain-Shortened Win - Vancouver Canadians
- Walk-Off Home Run Sinks Sox, 6-4 - Everett AquaSox
- Hops Walk-Off for 50th Time in Team History - Hillsboro Hops
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