Hops' Bats Explode for 11 in Day Game Victory

On Wednesday afternoon, the Hillsboro Hops pummeled the Vancouver Canadians 11-4. The Hops bats struck early with two runs in the first and another five in the second. Ronny Simon belted his first home run in a Hops uniform and led the club with three RBIs.

Marcos Tineo took the mound for the Hops and struck out five over his first three scoreless frames. The right hander got into a little trouble in the top of the first after allowing a two-out ground-rule double to Cs slugger Spencer Horwitz . However, Tineo pitched out of the jam after forcing number three prospect in the Blue Jays system (according to MLB.com) Orelvis Martinez to strike out looking.

Hillsboro jumped all over Vancouver's starter Paxton Schultz in the early innings. With one out in the bottom of the first, Simon (1) crushed a line drive down the right field line that tucked just inside the foul pole. Red-hot Blaze Alexander followed with a double and was driven in by a single by A.J. Vukovich to give the Hops a 2-0 lead.

Schultz's struggles carried into the bottom of the second as the Hops tagged him for five more runs. Back-to-back singles by Cam Coursey and Elian Miranda -- Hops debut and first hit since joining the club -- and a walk to Leodany Perez loaded with bases with just one out. Jorge Barrosa and Simon followed with two-run RBIs to give the Hops a 6-0 lead. Hillsboro added a final run in the inning when Tristin English brought home Simon with a single.

The Canadians turned to Willy Gaston in the third inning to stop the bleeding, but the Hops tagged him for four earned runs over three frames. In the bottom of the fourth, English was drilled with the bases loaded and a second run scored after Vukovich hit into a fielder's choice. The Hops added two more runs in the fifth, fueled by back-to-back triples by Axel Andueza and Coursey to start the inning. Perez drove in Coursey to extend Hillsboro's lead to 11-0.

Tineo continued to shine into the middle innings and was scoreless through five. The Cs lone run off Tineo came from a lead-off homer by Martinez (5) in the top of the sixth. Tineo's day was over after six innings of one-run ball while striking out seven.

Hops' manager Vince Harrison turned to Bobby Ay in the top of the seventh. The Canadians added a run in the frame on a sacrifice fly from Luis De Los Santos . In his second inning of relief, Ay retired the side one-two-three. Yaramil Hiraldo closed the door in the ninth to give the Hops their second straight win to start the series.

In his quest for the first Hops cycle since July 5, 2017 (Yan Sanchez), Simon recorded his fourth hit of the contest in the bottom of the eighth. The slugger fell a triple away from the cycle, but finished with two runs and three RBIs to cap off his big day.

Hillsboro (44-53) will continue their series against Vancouver (44-54) tomorrow at 7:05 pm. Catch all the action on Rip City Radio 620 AM and www.RipCityRadio.com with the pregame coverage beginning at 6:50.