Crazy Eight! Hops’ Eight-Run Inning Leads to Win

EVERETT, WASH. (April 10, 2025) --- The Hops’ talented offense sees a lot of pitches and tends to wear pitchers down and capitalize on mistakes. Each game, it seems as though it’s just a matter of time before they break through with a big inning.

On Tuesday at Everett Memorial Stadium, a five-run seventh had led to a 7-6 win. On Wednesday, consecutive four-run frames had keyed a 13-6 victory. And on Thursday night, Hillsboro put together an eight-run third inning --- including a grand slam by Angel Ortiz and a three-run double by Cristofer Torin --- to beat the Everett Aquasox, 8-4. Hops starter Daniel Eagen struck out 10 in just his second professional outing.

The Hops (5-1) have won five consecutive games, more than at any point in the 2024 season, and they have a two-game lead in the Northwest League over Spokane and Vancouver. Everett (2-4) has dropped four in a row.

Everett broke a scoreless tie with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second on a two-run single by Carson Jones, but the Hops answered immediately against Everett starter William Fleming. Druw Jones, Cristofer Torin and Demetrio Crisantes singled to load the bases with none out. Ryan Waldschmidt singled for a run. And Angel Ortiz lifted an opposite-field fly ball to left for a wind-blown grand slam. It was 5-2 Hops, and they weren’t done. Ben Hernandez replaced Fleming, and was wild. He walked three of the first five batters he faced, and with two out, Torin smoked a three-run double off the short-porch hand-operated scoreboard in right-center to make it 8-2.

Crisantes walked, marking the end for Hernandez. Tyler Cleveland came out of the Everett bullpen, and hit Waldschmidt with the first pitch he threw to load the bases again. Ortiz came up with a chance at a Fernando Tatis Sr. moment. But instead of hitting his second grand slam of the inning, this time he struck out.

As it turned out, Hillsboro was thoroughly shut down from that point by Cleveland and fellow relievers Charlie Bielenson and Gabriel Sosa. The trio combined to strike out 14 Hops and allow just one hit in 6.1 innings, and after the third inning, the Hops got just one more runner into scoring position. Sosa accomplished a rare feat in the top of the ninth, working an immaculate inning --- he struck out Ortiz, Jansel Luis and Jackson Feltner on just nine pitches.

The Hops’ eight-run fourth would be plenty for Eagen and a trio of relievers. Eagen --- the Diamondbacks’ third-round draft choice out of Presbyterian College in South Carolina last year --- had been hit hard by Eugene in his pro debut on Opening Night. This one was quite different.

The right-hander Eagen showed off two plus breaking balls, a slider (which he threw mostly to right-handed hitters) and a curveball (which he threw mostly to left-handed hitters). He struck out the side in order in both the first and third innings (the top of the order each time), and when he whiffed Carson Jones for the first out of the fifth, he became the first Hops pitcher this year with a double-digit strikeout game. He finished with one walk and 10 strikeouts, allowing five hits and two runs in 4.1 innings.

Eli Saul, the Hops’ all-time leader in pitching appearances (Thursday night was the 76th of his career) replaced Eagen in the fifth, and after walking the first batter he faced to load the bases, Everett (trailing 8-2) had a chance to get back in the game. But Saul induced Colt Emerson --- the Mariners’ top prospect according to MLB.com --- to ground into a 5-4-3 double play.

Everett got something going in the seventh against Saul when an error and a walk began the inning. Lefty Carlos Rey came on for Hillsboro, and after a hit batter, an infield hit, a passed ball and a wild pitch, Everett had cut the deficit to 8-4. Number-three hitter Tai Peete came up representing the tying run. With the bases loaded and two down, Rey struck out the left-handed-hitting Peete with a 3-2 slider.

Rey then whiffed the middle-third of the Everett lineup in order in the eighth, and fellow lefty Luke Craig came on for the ninth to protect the Hops’ 8-4 lead. A hit batter and a walk gave Everett some hope, but Craig struck out Michael Arroyo and retired Emerson on a ground-out to second to end the game.

Torin and Waldschmidt have a hit in all six Hops games. Torin has scored a run in all six, and Waldschmidt has driven home a run in each of the last five.

The Hops’ three wins in Everett marks the first time they’ve won the first three games of a road series since they took the first four of a six-game series at Tri-City from May 31-June 3, 2022.

The series continues on Friday night at 7:05 Everett Memorial Stadium. Because of a conflict with the Portland Trail Blazers, the Hops will not air as normal on Rip City Radio 620, nor on the regular online stream. Instead, the game will air only on the alternate stream, at https://www.iheart.com/live/7052. Airtime will be 6:50PM. (This will be the final time this season an entire game will be streaming-only on the alternate stream. Sunday’s 4:05PM series finale at Everett may see the early portion of the broadcast on the alt stream only, depending on when coverage of the Blazers’ season finale ends. All remaining Hops games will air on 620AM and on the normal online stream at RipCityRadio.com.)