Hops Surge To Sixth Straight Win

EVERETT, Wash. -- In 2024, the Hillsboro Hops began the season with a trove of 2023 draft talent and opened the schedule by taking two of three at home against the visiting Everett AquaSox before crashing and burning in an injury-plagued first road trip to Vancouver.

So far in 2025, all of the many talented prospects have stayed out of the training room and the offense has more than covered some shaky bullpen outings with one explosive inning after another. A pair of big frames Friday night lifted the Hops (6-1) to their sixth consecutive win and clinched a series win at Everett (2-5) as they battered the Seattle Mariners' affiliate 11-4 at Funko Field.

Down 1-0 early, the Hops scored four times in the second inning to take the lead for good. After Everett closed to within 5-3 with two-out rally in the sixth, the Hops blew the game open with a six-run eighth inning and cruised to their fourth straight win over the Frogs.

Unheralded Ben McLoughlin shined brightest amongst a bevy of high-dollar Diamondbacks prospects. The 2024 ninth-rounder out of Arkansas had three hits, including a back-breaking, two-run homer as the Hops sent 11 men to the plate in the eighth inning. The second-year pro from Golden, Colorado scored three runs and drove in two.

The Hops rapped out 14 hits, half of them coming in the eighth. Only Angel Ortiz went without a base hit on this night, but the left-handed hitting right fielder scorched a line drive up the middle that nearly decapitated Everett reliever Stefan Raeth, who deflected the ball towards shortstop where Colt Emerson turned a double play on what turned out to be Hillsboro's final swing of the night.

The Hillsboro bullpen continued to struggle with walks, but also continued to make up for those walks with strikeouts. It helped that Hops pitchers retired the leadoff batter in every inning, but the first and last. Six Hillsboro pitchers combined to walk ten batters, but also combined to fan 15, led by starting pitcher John West's seven punch outs over four innings. The 6-8, 265-pound righty walked one and hit one batter, surrendering just two hits.

West plunked Michael Arroyo to lead off the Everett first. Emerson followed with a high chopper over the leaping first baseman McLoughlin and down the right field line for an RBI double, advancing to third on a throw to the plate. But Emerson wouldn't budge from there. After a strikeout of Josh Caron and a walk to cleanup hitter Lazaro Montes, West set down Tai Peete on a breaking ball on the ninth pitch of the at bat. Then second baseman Cristofer Torin robbed Milkar Perez of an RBI hit with a fine diving stop, the first of two web gems from 19-year-old Venezuelan infielder.

The Hops responded with five hits and four runs in the second inning. Ryan Waldschmidt extended his hitting streak to seven games with a sharp single to center. Druw Jones singled to right and McLoughlin loaded the bases with another base hit. Gavin Logan launched a shot to left that fell just short of Hillsboro's third grand slam in seven games, with the former Oregon State catcher settling for a two run double high off the wall. Junior Franco plated two more with a base hit.

Up 5-1 after parlaying two Everett errors and a wild pitch into a run in the fifth, the Hops allowed the home team back into the game in the sixth. Veteran lefty reliever Liam Norris got wild after retiring the first two batters in short order. Back-to-back walks put Milkar Perez and Carson Jones aboard and Brandon Eike sent them both plateward after clobbering a first-pitch fastball halfway up the center field wall for a double. Another walk from Norris ended his night. Righty Hayden Durke came on and loaded the bases with another free pass, but got the M's top prospect Emerson to ground out harmlessly to Jansel Luis at short to end the threat.

The Hops are thriving early in the season by putting together big innings. Everett reliever Jesse Wainscott was on the receiving end of an 8th-inning beating that put the game out of reach.

Torin opened the eighth with an infield hit to Emerson at short, one of the few plays the 19-year-old former Ohio Gatorade Player Of The Year didn't make on a busy night. One out later, with runners at second and third after a Jansel Luis single and a wild pitch, Jones rifled a single up the middle against a drawn-in AquaSox infield, plating both runners. With two outs and Jones at third, McLoughlin launched a shot just to the right of the 345 sign in right to put Hillsboro up 9-3.

Bases were clear and two were out, but Hillsboro still wasn't finished pounding. A walk and infield hit preceded a slicing two-RBI double into the left field corner off the bat of leadoff hitter Anderdson Rojas. Torin followed with his second hit of the inning and the rout was complete.

Reliever Alexis Liebano (1-0) overcame a pair of two-out walks to pitch a scoreless fifth inning, striking out two to get the win.

Everett pitchers combined on just four strikeouts and two bases on balls, but the AquaSox failed to take advantage of Hillsboro charity, stranding 13 runners on base, while the Hops left just four on the bases. Ryan Hawks (1-1)-- Northwest League starter for all of 2024 in the Mariners system--completed five innings, allowing seven hits and no walks with one strikeout. Four of the five runs he allowed were earned.

Hillsboro got a sneak preview of switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje earlier in the series. Seattle's electrifying first-round pick in the 2024 draft out of Mississippi State worked a relief inning as a lefty earlier on Wednesday. Cijntje will pitch as a right-handed starter in game five of the series Saturday night. His first start of the season featured four scoreless innings and six strikeouts against Spokane last week. The Hops will counter with Mason Marriott, who pitched effectively in his first High-A start against Eugene Saturday.

Hear all the Hops baseball action for the remainder of the season on Rip City Radio 620 AM, with pregame coverage Saturday beginning at 6:50 p.m.