Rally Redux: Hops Stun Everett in Ninth Again

EVERETT, WASH. (June 2, 2023) --- Two nights, two ninth-inning deficits, two rallies, and two wins. The Hillsboro Hops have enjoyed the past 24 hours at Everett Memorial Stadium.

On Thursday, the Hops scored twice in the top of the ninth for a 13-12 win over the Everett Aquasox. And on Friday, they were back at it again --- this time scoring three times and holding on for a 4-3 victory.

Everett led 3-1 with one out and none on in the top of the ninth. Hillsboro had recorded eight hits in the game, but all were singles. In fact, the two teams had combined for 13 hits over the first eight innings, none for extra bases.

That changed after an extended battle when S.P. Chen ripped the 10th pitch he saw from Jarod Bayless into the right-field corner for a double. Two pitches later, Brett Johnson also doubled to the corner in right, scoring Chen. Speedster Wilderd Patino chopped one to short, and when Mike Salvatore glanced at Johnson going to third, he lost precious milliseconds, and his throw to first was just late. Patino’s infield hit put runners at the corners with one out.

Kyle Hill came out of the Sox bullpen to replace Bayless. Patino stole second, and Jonathan Guzman walked on four pitches to load the bases.

Gary Mattis Jr. then unloaded --- a shot off the fence in left field that scored a pair and put Hillsboro up 4-3. With runners at second and third, Hill fanned the next two hitters, but the damage was done.

Right-hander Logan Clayton had struggled in his first two outings with the Hops, but he turned things around Friday. He had worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth, and when the Hops forged the lead, they brought Clayton back for the bottom of the ninth.

He retired Mariners top prospect Harry Ford on a hard-hit grounder to Josh Day at second, battled back from 3-0 to strike out Ben Ramirez on a fastball, and then confronted Alberto Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, tied for the minor league lead in extra-base hits with 31 entering the day, represented the last out in the bottom of the ninth for the second straight night. On Thursday, he had popped out to second with the tying and winning runs on base. This time, representing the tying run, he grounded out to second. Game over. Two perfect innings for Clayton.

The Hops had scored first in the top of the third on an infield hit by Mattis, a single by J.J. D’Orazio, a ground-out and a sacrifice fly by Shane Muntz.

Left-hander Spencer Giesting started for the Hops, and faced just one hitter over the minimum in the first three innings. In the fourth, he pitched around his own error, a hit batter and a walk, striking out back-to-back hitters with the bases loaded to preserve the Hops’ 1-0 lead.

Giesting tired in the fifth inning, walking the first two men he faced. Ford then hit a ground ball to third that should have at least been a force out, and could have been a double play. But Jesus Valdez bobbled it, and the bases were loaded with none out. Ramirez had an RBI ground out to tie the game, sending Giesting to the showers in favor of lefty Dillon Larsen.

Larsen struck out Rodriguez for the second out of the inning, but Everett DH Hogan Windish and center fielder Walking Cabrera each banged run-scoring singles, and Everett had a 3-1 lead.

Larsen struck out the side in the sixth, allowing just a two-out single, and recorded two more Ks in the seventh to strand two and keep the Hops within two runs, paving the way for their ninth-inning heroics.

The Hops have taken three of the first four games in the six-game series, and they’ve done so without their best hitter. Corner infielder Ivan Melendez has been out with a minor injury and is day-to-day.

Everett’s loss spoiled a strong start by left-hander Reid VanScoter. He worked seven innings, allowing eight hits (all singles) and one run, with two walks and eight strikeouts.

Hillsboro (21-28) is 5.5 games out of first with 17 games remaining in the first-half pennant race. Everett (24-25) is in fifth, though just 2.5 games out.

Game five of the series is Saturday night at 7:05, with the radio pregame show beginning at 6:50 on Rip City Radio 620AM, and online at www.RipCityRadio.com.