On a boiling afternoon in Hillsboro, the Hops fell to the Spokane Indians 7-5. Reece Hampton's (3) sixth inning homer brought the Hops within striking distance, but the Indians hung on to earn their second win in a row and a three-game series split.
Kenny Hernandez was the starter for
On a boiling afternoon in Hillsboro, the Hops fell to the Spokane Indians 7-5. Reece Hampton's (3) sixth inning homer brought the Hops within striking distance, but the Indians hung on to earn their second win in a row and a three-game series split.
Kenny Hernandez was the starter for the Hops and struggled out of the gate. Willie MacIver dinged a two-run homer (10) to right field to give the Indians the early lead. The Hops got on the board in the bottom the bottom of the third on an RBI (run batted in) single by Blaze Alexander .
Hernandez was sharp over the second inning and pitched out of a jam in the third. With one out in the top of the fourth, Hernandez allowed a solo homer to Niko Decolati (6). Still with one out, Kyle Datres drew a walk and Cade Harris (2) drilled a two-run homer to cap off a three-run inning. Hernandez's night was over after 3.1 innings, allowing three homers and four earned runs.
Spokane added a run in the top of the sixth to take a commanding 6-1 lead. The Hops made a run in their half of the frame. Spencer Brickhouse led off with a single and Andy Yerzy walked to put runners on at first and second. Brickhouse moved to third and then scored on back-to-back sacrifice flies by Dominic Canzone and Tristin English . With two outs, Hampton drove a long fly ball over the center field fence to bring the Hops within two runs.
In the top of the seventh, Brenton Doyle(6) hit Spokane's fourth home run of the ballgame to make the score 7-4. In their half of the seventh, Hampton came through again, drilling an RBI double this time. Hampton wasn't in the starting lineup today but took over after Nick Dalesandro was ejected. Hampton made the most of his opportunities, recording two hits and three RBIs. Down two outs and a runner on first in the bottom of the ninth, Hampton got one more opportunity but fell short of another big hit for the Hops.
Hillsboro (19-27) will begin a series against the Eugene Emeralds on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. The game will air on Rip City Radio 620 AM with pregame coverage beginning at 6:50 p.m.
