Hops' Bats Awaken in 8-4 Win over Dust Devils

Pasco, WA (April 15, 2026) - On a cold, windy night at Gesa Stadium the Tri-City Dust Devils hosted the Hillsboro Hops in game two of a six-game series. After recording just one hit last night, the Hops bats awakened with eight runs and 11 hits on Wednesday in their 8-4 win. Kenny Castillo drove in four and Yerald Nin scored four runs, as Junior Sanchez pitched four more scoreless innings giving him 8.1 scoreless innings to begin the season.

Both teams were quiet early as Tri-City starter Nate Snead worked through the first three innings without allowing a run, while Hillsboro’s Junior Sanchez matched him by striking out the side.

Hillsboro opened scoring in the second inning when Kenny Castillo hit an RBI double to bring in Yerald Nin, making it a 1–0 lead. It would be the first of four RBI for Castillo and the first of four runs scored for Nin.

The game shifted in the fourth inning as Hillsboro put together multiple hits, including RBI singles from Brady Counsell and Castillo. Four straight singles for Hillsboro produced several runs and gave the Hops a 4-0 advantage.

Junior Sanchez kept Tri-City off the board, pitching 4.1 scoreless innings in his second straight scoreless start to begin the season. Hillsboro added to the lead in the sixth inning when Castillo drove in another run making it 5-0.

Tri-City’s offense broke through in the seventh inning against reliever Zane Russell. Russell delivered 10 straight balls to being the inning, allowing the Dust Devil to load the bases. Matt Coutney then delivered a two-run single and a balk later in the inning allowed another run to score. This cut into the deficit and brought Tri-City back into contention making the score 5-3.

In the eighth inning, Hillsboro added a much needed insurance run. Adrian Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly to score Yerald Nin, extending the lead to 6-3..

The ninth inning included late scoring from both sides. In the top half, Yassel Soler hit a two-run home run to left field, his third home run of the year and giving the Hops a five-run padding heading to the final frame.

Tri-City wouldn’t go down quietly. Sawyer Hawks came in looking to close the door on the Dust Devils and they recorded consecutive hits from Johan Macias and Jake Munroe. A wild pitch allowed a run to score, but Hawks recovered and recorded two strikeouts to end the game and leave the tying run on deck. Dating back to last series, eight of Hawks’ last nine recorded outs have been strikeouts.

Game three of the series will be tomorrow night at Gesa Stadium. A 6:30 first pitch with airtime at 6:15 on Rip City Radio 620 AM.