Hops Clinch Series, Win 4th Straight Vs. NWL Leaders

VANCOUVER, BC -- A Hillsboro Hops team gaining momentum with the addition of draft talent and late summer promotions has run into a Vancouver squad that has led the league nearly wire-to-wire but might be losing some steam as the postseason approaches.

Spencer Giesting (6-6) struck out nine over seven complete innings to win his fourth consecutive start and Gavin Conticello had two hits and two RBI, including his first home run as a Hop as Hillsboro (27-32 2nd half, 51-74 overall) defeated Vancouver 6-4 Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd of 6,413 at Nat Bailey Stadium.

Going against the grain of much of this season, most of the scoring took place early. Conticello homered to right off Canadians starting pticher Rafael Sanchez (5-8) in the second inning before the C's (36-23, 74-50) unloaded in their half of the frame with four consecutive hard-hit balls to start the inning. Glenn Santiago tripled home two runs and Estiven Machado followed with an RBI single to make it 3-1 Vancouver.

But just as the Hops did the past two days, they answered a Vancouver multi-run inning with one of their own, taking advantage of two Machado errors at shortstop to plate three unearned runs in the third inning. A double play prevented a potential catastrophic inning for the C's, but Hillsboro continued to add on.

Gavin Logan, the hero of Friday's extra-inning win, walked and scored in the third then drove in the Hops' fifth run of the game with a two-out RBI single in the fourth inning. With two outs and the bases clear, the Hops got consecutive singles from Jesus Valdez, Manuel Pena and Logan to push the lead to 5-3.

Conticello came through again in the fifth with an RBI single to right to plate Gino Groover, again coming with two outs in the inning.

The C's got one back in their half of the sixth, parlaying a leadoff walk to Gabriel Martinez into a run on a Ryan McCarty ground out. It would be the only walk of the night for Giesting, who continued a late summer surge by allowing four runs on just four hits, coming up one shy of tying his career-high in strikeouts.

Armando Vasquez ran into trouble in the eighth when Vancouver loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk. But Peniel Otano came out of the Hops' pen and fanned Santiago to quell the threat, then retired the side in order in the ninth with another K, earning his second save of the series and third of the season, all against Vancouver.

Pena added two hits and a run scored and Conticello extended his hitting streak to seven games. The 20-year-old Floridian has an extra base hit in six of those seven contests.

The teams wrap up their season series Sunday with a 1:05 p.m. contest. Pregame coverage begins at 12:50 p.m. on Rip City Radio 620 AM.