Hops On Wrong End Of Home Run Derby
When the Hillsboro Hops entered Everett Memorial Stadium Tuesday night, the hand-operated scoreboard at Funko Field still read 20-3 in favor of the home team, the score the last time Everett played at home before two weeks on the road. It would be an ominous sign as it turned out.
When the Hillsboro Hops entered Everett Memorial Stadium Tuesday night, the hand-operated scoreboard at Funko Field still read 20-3 in favor of the home team, the score the last time Everett played at home before two weeks on the road. It would be an ominous sign as it turned out.
The AquaSox didn’t quite reach 20 runs, but they smacked 20 hits, including six home runs in a 16-2 smackdown of the Hops.
Austin Shenton started the derby with a solo shot over the hand-operated scoreboard in right center field in the first inning, the first of four extra-base hits on the night for the native of Bellingham, about an hour north of Everett. Two batters later, Carter Bins cleared the wall for the first of two times on the night. Both Shenton and Bins had four hits, matching a single-game record set by a number of Hops opponents.
Hops’ starting pitcher Conor Grammes surrendered eight hits and seven runs over 3 2/3 innings pitch, including four home runs. But the AquaSox were far from over.
After Wesley Rodriguez recorded the final out of the fourth inning, Bins greeted Hunter Haworth in the fifth with his second homer of the night and fourth of the year. The AquaSox would send 11 men to the plate in an ugly sixth inning, that featured seven hits, another home run—Kaden Polcovich’s second of the night—and an error as the Frogs turned an 8-1 lead into a 16-1 advantage.
Hillsboro finally joined the home run derby in the ninth when Spencer Brickhouse cleared the wall in left for his first homer as a Hop.
Everett collected 12 extra base hits and six home runs, both records for a Hops opponent. Matt Brash picked up his first pro win, allowing one run on a Nick Dalesandro two-out RBI single in the fifth. Brash struck out seven and walked two in 5 2/3 innings. Remarkably, Tim Elliott, despite entering the game with a 16-1 lead, picked up his first pro save by pitching the final three innings.
The Hops will try to bounce back with Ryne Nelson (1-1) on the mound. Everett will counter with Levi Stoudt. The game will air live on Rip City Radio 620 AM with pregame coverage beginning at 6:50 p.m., first pitch at 7:05.