Tri-City Turned Away in Hillsboro
A late inning bases loaded hit by pitch proved the difference in a hard-fought, tightly contested ballgame Wednesday night, with the Hillsboro Hops (17-24) coming out on top 2-1 over the Tri-City Dust Devils at Ron Tonkin Field. The Dust Devils struck first in the game when C Gustavo Campero
A late inning bases loaded hit by pitch proved the difference in a hard-fought, tightly contested ballgame Wednesday night, with the Hillsboro Hops (17-24) coming out on top 2-1 over the Tri-City Dust Devils at Ron Tonkin Field.
The Dust Devils struck first in the game when C Gustavo Campero sent a pitch from Hops starter Avery Short over the left-center field fence for a solo home run and a 1-0 Tri-City lead. It was Campero’s third home run of the season, and the first in 2023 from the right-hand side for the switch-hitting Colombian.
Hillsboro answered in the bottom of the 3rd. DH S.P. Chen lined a one-out single to center field, moving to second on a passed ball which proved costly. CF Wilderd Patiño chopped a ball up the middle, just getting past the glove of 2B Osmy Gregorio into center field. Chen scored and Patiño beat the throw to second for a two-out RBI double that tied the game at 1-1.
Both starters held their opponent off the scoreboard in the middle innings. Dust Devils starter Connor Van Scoyoc gave his team a second straight quality start, going six innings and only allowing the one run on five hits. The Iowan struck out five and walked only one, getting a no-decision. Hillsboro’s Avery Short went an inning shorter, but also posted a one-run outing, also getting no decision.
The deciding run of the game came in the bottom of the 7th inning. Tri-City reliever Emilker Guzman (2-2) took over for Van Scoyoc and ended up in a bases loaded jam with one out via two walks and a double. Patiño came back up, taking a pitch riding high and tight off the hands. The hit-by-pitch scored RF Brett Johnson from third to make it 2-1 for the Hops.
The Hillsboro bullpen, meanwhile, made it hard for the Dust Devils to get anything going offensively. 3B Werner Blakely was hit by a pitch from Hops reliever Carlos Meza (3-0) in the 7th, and 1B Gabe Matthews singled with two out in the 9th to keep the game alive. Otherwise, Short and those following him retired every batter they saw following Campero’s 3rd inning longball, striking out 14 batters on the night.
Hillsboro leads the series with Tri-City two games to none. Game three of the six-game set takes place at 6:35 p.m. Thursday night at Ron Tonkin Field. Right-hander Caden Dana (0-1, 6.75 ERA) will try to be the stopper for the Dust Devils, while righty Dylan Ray (1-3, 5.40 ERA) will attempt to continue the Hops’ three-game winning streak.
Broadcast coverage of the game begins with the pregame show at 6:15 p.m. both here and at the MiLB First Pitch app.
Tri-City and Hillsboro will play another 6:35 p.m. game Friday, with Saturday’s game marked for a 4:05 p.m. start. A 1:05 p.m. Sunday matinee closes the series, with the Dust Devils then returning home for a six-game series with the Spokane Indians from May 30-June 4.
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).