Valdez, Caballero power Hops to victory in series opener

The Hillsboro Hops defeated the Spokane Indians by a score of 5-1 in the first game of a five-game set.
The Diamondbacks' third round and 99^th overall pick of the Major League Baseball Draft Jackson Goddard made his Hillsboro debut, throwing one inning while striking out two and topping out in the mid-90s with his fastball. Bryan Valdez also debuted for the Hops, and kept the Indians off balance all night, throwing six and one-third innings, scattering six hits, one run, and striking out six. The Hops staff dominated.

Hillsboro's offense scored early and often, when a Joey Rose single in the first put the Hops up by a score. In the bottom of the second, outfielder Dan Swain doubled in fellow Massachusetts native Ryan Tufts, giving the Hops a two-run advantage. Infielder Ryan Dobson drove in Swain on a sacrifice fly, and Jose Caballero tripled to make it 4-0 in favor of the Hops.
Spokane's lone run came from a J.P. Martinez solo home run in the top of the fourth.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Hops put the game out of reach, when Swain singled in Francis Martinez, tallying the score at 5-1.
The Hops move to 9-6 on the season, while Spokane drops to 6-9.
Game two of the series begins at 7:05 PM. It will be televised live locally on NBC Sports Northwest, or tune into Rip City Radio 620 AM.