Hops Cruise Past Devils 9-1 To Even Series

Win lose or draw, the Hops continue to lead the Northwest League's South Division.
Hillsboro outfielder Dominic Canzone homered and doubled and drove in four runs and the Hops (14-10 second half, 38-24 overall) got to within one out of their ninth shutout win of the season before settling on a 9-1 win over the Tri-City Dust Devils (13-11, 29-33) in front of a Sunday afternoon crowd of 4,331 at Ron Tonkin Field Sunday.

Cody Reed, a member of the Northwest League's best pitching staff on the 2015 championship team, was awarded the win in relief. Reed, a former second round pick out of Ardmore (AL) High School making his second rehab appearance in Hillsboro after missing the entire 2018 season with an injury, tossed two scoreless innings after starter and first-round draft pick Drey Jameson struck out three over two scoreless frames.
The Hops struck for four runs in the second inning, capped by Canzone's home run to right, his first with the Hops and sixth of the season. A ground rule RBI double by the 8th-round pick from Ohio State followed Andy Yerzy's second RBI single of the game in the third inning.
Tri-City starting pitcher Ignacio Feliz took the loss, knocked off the hill in the third inning after allowing six runs, four earned, on six hits with two strikeouts and three walks. It was the shortest outing of the year for Feliz, who had an ERA of 3.06 over 10 games coming in.
Liover Peguero had two hits and two runs scored with an RBI and Jesus Marriaga reached base four times, three on walks, with two runs scored. Erin Baldwin pitched four scoreless innings of relief for the Hops before Tri-City scored its only run on an RBI triple by Jason Pineda off Jake Polancic with two outs in the ninth.
Despite a 3-7 stretch since the NWL-Pioneer League All-Star break, the Hops have been able to maintain a share of the lead in the South Division second-half standings. Eugene defeated Spokane 2-1 Sunday to stay tied for first with the Hops with 14 games left in the season. The two teams have a critical three-game series at P.K. Park beginning Tuesday night.
The Hops and Dust Devils wrap up their series Monday night with former Oregon Duck and second round draft pick Ryne Nelson getting the start on the mound for Hillsboro. Pre-game airtime on NBC Sports Northwest Rip City Radio 620 AM is at 7 p.m. with the first pitch at 7:05 p.m.