Dix Propels Rawhide Past 66ers on Emotional Night in Visalia

Visalia, CA – JD Dix hit two home runs and the Visalia Rawhide (4-8) defeated the Inland Empire 66ers (3-8) in front of a sold out crowd of 2,468 fans on Thursday night at Valley Strong Ballpark.

Thursday's game was dedicated to the memory of Tulare County Sheriff Deputy Randy Hoppert. 100% of ticket proceeds for the game were donated to the Hoppert family with the Rawhide and Gropetti Automotive both matching the money raised through ticket sales.

Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux shared pregame words with the fans, a moment of silence was held and Hoppert’s nephew Elijah threw out the game’s first pitch. Fans can still donate to the family through this official link.

On the diamond Dix opened the scoring with a solo home run that snuck over the left field wall in the first inning. He followed with a two run blast to left in the third inning. The 2024 1st round draft pick became the first Rawhide player to homer twice in a game since Yassel Soler in June of 2025.

Abdias De La Cruz also had a big game at the plate with an RBI double in the second inning and a single in the fourth that helped Jose Alpuria score later in the frame on a passed ball. De La Cruz also tripled in the sixth to finish with three hits and a home run shy of the cycle.

Rawhide pitching used 18 strikeouts to overwhelm the 66ers’ bats. Starter Daury Vasquez tossed 3.1 innings allowing just a run and two hits with five strikeouts.

Alex Galvan earned the win with 1.2 innings of shutout work and five strikeouts. Luke Dotson secured his first professional save with 2.1 shutout innings and five strikeouts.

Kayson Cunningham and Jose Mejia both extended their season starting on-base streaks to 11 games.

Visalia and Inland Empire continue the series at Valley Strong Ballpark with a 6:35 PM first pitch on Friday. The first 350 fans will receive a Central Valley Sir Loins jersey courtesy of Harris Ranch. The evening concludes with postgame fireworks.

The game is also the first Four Pack Friday of the year courtesy of Valley Pacific Petroleum Service and Chevron. Fans can pick up a four pack voucher at participating Chevron locations or show their Chevron Gas Card at the ballpark to receive four tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas for only $50.

Gates open for season ticket holders at 5:15 PM and the general public at 5:30 PM.

Rawhide tickets are available through the team’s website and at the stadium box office sponsored by Kaweah Health starting at 10 AM on weekday gamedays.

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The Visalia Rawhide are the Single-A Affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks playing professional baseball in the Central Valley since 1946. The Rawhide's 2026 theme is "Savor the Season" as the team transforms into the Central Valley Sir Loins on Saturday gamedays.   

Stay up to date with the Rawhide on the team’s website and by following the Rawhide on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and X. The Rawhide play all home games at Valley Strong Ballpark located at 300 N Giddings Street Visalia, CA 93291.

Fans can purchase season ticket packages, group ticket plans, single game tickets and team merchandise through the Rawhide website and at the stadium ticket office sponsored by Kaweah Health. All Rawhide games can be watched on MLB.TV and the Bally Sports Live App with a free radio broadcast also available online. Select home games will be aired on KNXT MyTV53. For more information, visit milb.com/visalia, email [email protected] or call (559) 732-4433.