Dust Devils Storm Back Late to Defeat Hops

The Tri-City Dust Devils (22-22) were down to their final six outs Saturday evening, trailing by three runs, but the visitors scored nine times in their final two at-bats to come from behind and grab a wild 12-9 win over the Hillsboro Hops (18-26) at Ron Tonkin Field.

Tri-City did the bulk of their damage in a seven-run 8^th inning, turning a 6-3 deficit into a 10-6 lead. The inning began with back-to-back singles from 1B Gabe Matthews and SS Arol Vera off Hillsboro reliever Carlos Meza (3-1), putting runners on the corners. 3B Osmy Gregorio grounded into a fielder’s choice, scoring Matthews and getting the Dust Devils within two at 6-4. A single by LF Alexander Ramirez put two runners back on, staying that way when C Gustavo Campero beat out a throw to first to prevent an inning-ending double play.

DH D’Shawn Knowles came up with two out and runners on the corners, hitting a tumbling grounder to the left side. Hops 3B Josh Day’s throw was both late and wide, allowing Gregorio to score on the RBI infield hit and bring Tri-City within one at 6-5. The error also allowed Campero to get to third and Knowles to second, putting both the potential tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. Hillsboro then went to their bullpen, calling on righty Gerald Ogando to preserve the lead.

C Myles Emmerson would not allow that to happen, driving a pitch into left field for a two-run single that scored both Campero and Knowles for a 7-6 lead, the Dust Devils’ first lead of the evening. The team was not done, either. CF Joe Stewart drew a walk, bringing up 2B Adrian Placencia.

The young infielder launched a ball to right field, staying fair down the line for a three-run home run to cap the inning and give Tri-City a 10-6 advantage. It was the switch-hitting Placencia’s fourth home run of 2023 (two from each side of the plate), and his second in as many games. Placencia also got his team on the board with a 3^rd inning double, scoring Stewart all the way from first base to cut into an early 3-0 Hops lead.

Dust Devils reliever Nathan Burns (1-0) pitched the 7^th and 8^th innings for the win, working around a pair of hits in the 8^th to post two scoreless innings with five strikeouts. The West Bend, Wisconsin native struck out the side in the 7^th.

The game included a breakout performance at the plate from Alexander Ramirez. The powerful righty mashed his first two home runs of 2023 in the game, both of the two-run variety, after going his first 143 at-bats without leaving the yard. The first came in the 4^th inning, a two-run opposite-field blast to right off Hillsboro starter Yu-Min Lin that tied the game at 3-3. Lin had not given up a home run in his first six starts of the season.

The second two-run homer came in the 9^th inning, a 434-foot blast that flew over the batter’s eye in center field and gave the Dust Devils a 12-6 lead. The Hops would get a three-run homer in the bottom of the 9^th to cut the lead in half with one out, but Nick Jones came on to get the final two outs and complete Tri-City’s highest-scoring win of the season.

Both Ramirez and Placencia drove in four runs on the evening, and both went 3 for 5 for the game. Matthews had two hits and everyone in the order had at least one hit in the game, for a grand total of 14 base knocks.

Pitching-wise Tri-City needed seven pitchers to get the win across the line, getting good relief appearances from Burns, Jones and righties Roman Phansalkar (3.1 IP, 1 R, 5 Ks) and Hayden Seig (1.2 IP, 1 R, 3 Ks), who steadied the ship along the way.

The comeback win moved the Dust Devils back to .500 on the season and gives them a chance to come back for a series split in the six-gamer’s finale at 1:05 p.m. Sunday afternoon at Ron Tonkin Field. Right-hander Bryce Osmond (1-5, 4.71 ERA) gets the start for Tri-City, while righty Eli Saul (1-0, 3.32 ERA) will take the ball for Hillsboro.

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

After the matinee the Dust Devils return home for a six-game series with the Spokane Indians beginning Tuesday night, May 30 at 6:30 p.m. It’s another Coca-Cola Tuesday with 21 oz. Coke products available for $2 all game long.

Tickets for the Spokane series, including the June 2-4 return of the Columbia River Rooster Tails, are on sale now. Also, 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).