Dust Devils Done In Late By Hops

A clutch two-out hit and stellar middle infield defense shut the door on the Tri-City Dust Devils (7-12) Saturday evening, with the Hillsboro Hops (9-11) coming back to hand the Dust Devils a 4-2 loss at Ron Tonkin Field.

Tri-City got on the board in their first at-bat. DH Arol Vera singled up the middle with two outs to extend the inning. 1B Christian Sepulveda came up and doubled to the left center field gap, scoring Vera for a 1-0 lead before Sepulveda was tagged out at third trying for a triple.

The Hops answered back in the bottom of the 1^st inning. CF Wilderd Patiño singled to center and quickly after stole second, moving to third on a fly out. Patiño then displayed his elite speed with two out, breaking for home on a throw back to the mound after a pitch. Dust Devils starter Bryce Osmond’s throw beat Patiño home, but the speedster was ruled to have evaded the tag to score and tie the game at 1-1.

The game stayed that way to the midpoint, with Osmond inducing a double play to escape a bases loaded jam in the 2^nd inning and stranding two Hillsboro runners in scoring position in the 4^th. Osmond got a no-decision, going four innings and striking out four.

Tri-City grabbed the lead back in the 5^th inning with speed of their own. RF Joe Stewart drew a one-out walk and then stole both second and third. SS Osmy Gregorio then brought Stewart home with a slow grounder to first, making it 2-1 to the visitors.

As in the 1^st inning, the Hops scored in the bottom of the inning to tie, grinding out three walks and a hit-by-pitch to even the score at 2-2. From there, the game stayed tight to the 8^th inning, where the Dust Devils got back-to-back hits but could not bring either runner home.

Hillsboro would take advantage of their chance to take the lead in the bottom of the 8^th. 2B S.P. Chen came up with two on and two out, driving a pitch from Emilker Guzman (1-1) through the left side for a 4-2 Hops lead.

Tri-City mounted one last charge in the 9^th, via singles from Stewart and Gregorio. 3B Casey Dana came up and hit a grounder up the middle. Chen, who had partnered with SS Channy Ortiz to rob Dana of a hit in the 8^th, grabbed it deep in the infield and threw to first base, barely beating Dana there to end the game.

The Dust Devils will look now to grab a series split in the finale of the six-gamer at 1:05 p.m. Sunday afternoon at Ron Tonkin Field. Righty Jack Kochanowicz (0-0, 2.31) takes the hill for Tri-City. Hillsboro has not yet announced a starting pitcher.

Broadcast coverage begins with the pregame show at 12:45 p.m., both here and at the MiLB First Pitch app.

Following a six-game series in Everett next week, the Dust Devils return home for a two-week homestand beginning Tuesday, May 9^th, against the Eugene Emeralds. It’s another Coca-Cola Tuesday, with 21 oz. Coke products for $2 all night.

Tickets for the upcoming homestand are on sale, with special ticket rates are available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on Dust Devils single game, season, mini-plan (11, 22, 33) and group tickets, visit dustdevilsbaseball.com, call the team office at (509) 544-8789, or visit the team office (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on game nights, or Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. otherwise).