Indians Complete Four-Game Sweep of Hawks

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Spokane Indians brought out the brooms on Monday night as they completed a four-game sweep of the Boise Hawks with a 3-2 victory on Smokey Bear 75^th Anniversary Night presented by Living Water Lawn & Tree Care, 103.9 BOB FM, and 94.1 The Bear.

TOP PERFORMERS

• Blaine Crim followed up his three hit night on Sunday with another one on Monday. His 3-for-4 performance at the plate raised his average to an eye-popping .462.
• Obie Ricumstrict racked up two more hits from the leadoff spot. In three games against Boise, he went 6-for-13 with five RBI from the top of the order.
• Sam Hellinger got the win out of the bullpen, his second of the season. The righty from Gonzaga University struck out six in 3.1 innings. He's given up just two hits in seven scoreless innings to start the season.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Spokane's bullpen has been phenomenal the first two weeks of the year. Indians' relievers yielded just two runs in 22.1 innings in the four game series against Boise. On the season, the bullpen has a miniscule 1.45 ERA.
• The Indians had not hit into a single double play in 10 games entering Monday night. They hit into two in the series finale. They still lead the league in fewest GIDP (ground into double play).
• Dating back to last season, Werner Leal (SV, 1) has given up no earned runs in his last 15.1 innings, while striking out 17.

KEY MOMENT
With the tying runner on third and two outs in the top of the eighth, Leal reached back and struck out Trevor Boone to end the inning. Two batters prior, Boise manager Steve Soliz was ejected for arguing a caught stealing call at second base.
NOTABLES

• Luis Asuncion went 2-for-3 from the dish. He's recorded a hit in eight of his nine games this season. He leads the team with 10 runs scored.
• John Matthews made his Indians' debut and threw two scoreless innings to start the game. The 2019 eighth round pick struck out two and walked none.
• Hellinger joins Nic Laio with 2-0 records. Spokane is the only team in the NWL league with two multi-win pitchers.

QUOTABLES
Sam Hellinger: "It was just one of those good days. I had all my stuff working. It's one of those things where usually when you feel bad in the bullpen, you'll do well on the mound. I actually felt really bad in the 'pen, so it was one of those things where it just felt good out on the mound. Those are the best situations, definitely my favorite to play in a close game with big pitches to pretty much every batter. I'm just glad we got the win tonight."
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Spokane continues their stranglehold on top of the North Division, extending their lead to five games over Tri City. The Dust Devils come to Spokane on Tuesday looking to hand the Indians their first home loss. Boise is now 0-7 on the road to start the season and will gladly head home to host Eugene.
NEXT GAME AT AVISTA STADIUM
The Indians continue their season long seven-game homestand with the start of a three-game series with the Tri-City Dust Devils on Tuesday for Bark in the Park & Azteca Taco Tuesday presented by Alaskan Brewing Company and ALT 96.1. Bring your favorite canine companion to the game! Fans and dogs alike will receive the special group rate of $5.00 per ticket. Fans that bring their dogs will get to sit in a special pet only section and all proceeds from the dog tickets will be given to the local animal shelters. Also, get a taco for just $2 for Azteca Taco Tuesday! Stick around after the game and join the Puppy Parade on the field! Gates open at 5:30 PM with first pitch at 6:30 PM. Tickets for all Spokane Indians home game are available to purchase at the Avista Stadium Ticket Office or at
SpokaneIndians.com.Reserve your seats today by calling (509) 343-OTTO (6886) or TIcketsWest at 1-800-325-SEAT.