Hops Hop Past Dust Devils
September 1, 2022 – Northwest League (NWL) – Tri-City Dust Devils News Release
Tri-City Dust Devils pitcher Braden Olthoff
(Tri-City Dust Devils)
The Tri-City Dust Devils (22-34 2H, 51-68) erased an early Hillsboro Hops (26-30 2H, 55-65) lead Wednesday night, but the Hops turned the tables right back to hand the Dust Devils a 6-3 loss at Ron Tonkin Field.
Tri-City fell behind early, with Hillsboro getting to Dust Devils starter Braden Olthoff (2-2) for two runs in the bottom of the 1st inning, but the visitors would get things going in their next two at-bats.
The first run for Tri-City came in the 2nd inning. 1B Gabe Matthews blooped a single into left center field to lead things off, with RF Joe Stewart running out a hustle double to put runners at second and third with no one out. DH Casey Dana then followed with a grounder to the left side, but it was enough for Matthews to score to make it a 2-1 game.
The Dust Devils then grabbed the lead in the 3rd inning. C Evan Russell led off the inning with an opposite field double grounded inside the first base bag down the right field line. CF D’Shawn Knowles singled to center, moving Russell to third, but the throw from center field went wide and all the way to the backstop, allowing Russell to score to tie the game at 2-2. SS Osmy Gregorio followed with a double to deep right field, scoring Knowles for a 3-2 Tri-City lead.
The Hops would not wait long to retake the lead, scoring three times in the 4th inning to seize it for good and adding a 6th inning solo home run by Hillsboro SS Channy Ortiz. The pitching staff pitched in by putting the clamps on the Dust Devils offense, including starter Chad Patrick (2-0) striking out the last five batters he faced to get through five innings and grab the win.
Tri-City would get one more opportunity, when 3B Christian Sepulveda, Russell and 2B Kyle Kasser all drew walks to load the bases with two outs in the 7th inning. The Hops’ Dillon Larsen, an Ellensburg native, came in and induced Knowles to ground out to end the threat.
Offensively, Sepulveda doubled in the 9th inning to keep the game alive, his 12th double since rejoining the team August 2. The New Yorker also made two great defensive plays in the game to take hits away from the home team. Also, Joe Stewart’s double extended his hitting streak to nine games and marked his fourth straight game with an extra-base hit.
On the mound, both Emilker Guzman and Dakota Donovan recorded scoreless innings late to keep the Dust Devils within range.
Game three of the six-game series takes place at 7:05 p.m. Thursday night at Ron Tonkin Field. A couple of southpaws will face off: Jose Salvador (3-7, 5.01 ERA) for Tri-City and Avery Short (1-2, 3.93 ERA) for Hillsboro.
The game broadcast begins with the King Beverage Budweiser Pregame Show at 6:50 p.m. at dustdevilsbaseball.com and the MiLB First Pitch app.
Tickets for Tri-City’s final home series of the regular season, September 6-11 vs. 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 or call 509-544-8789.
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