Hops Foil C's In Final Series Opener

HILLSBORO, OR – The Vancouver Canadians were defeated by the Hillsboro Hops (Diamondbacks) 7-4 Tuesday night at Ron Tonkin Field.

The Hops took the lead for good with four runs in the top of the fourth. Starter Adam Kloffenstein (L, 7-7) was perfect for his first three innings before a hit batter on his first pitch of the fourth put the first runner on base for Hillsboro. A two-run homer two pitches later spoiled the no-hitter and the shutout then the Baby Snakes struck for two more runs on four hits to lead 4-0. Of his six innings of work, Kloffenstein was perfect in four of them and didn’t allow a run in five of six.

Vancouver spoiled the no-hitter and the shutout in the bottom of the fifth. Addison Barger doubled, Trevor Schwecke singled in a run and later scored on a sacrifice fly.

Hillsboro responded with two unearned runs in the sixth with a strikeout plus wild pitch, a single and a two-run throwing error on a ground ball that could have ended the inning but instead put the Hops in front 6-2.

A two-run bottom of the sixth helped the C’s draw within a pair again. Will Robertson singled, PK Morris was hit by a pitch and Barger singled home a run. Schwecke’s RBI groundout made it 6-4 Hillsboro.

In the ninth, the Hops added a run on a walk, a double and a wild pitch to lead 7-4 and eventually win by that score.

Barger, Ray and PK Morris were all promoted from Low-A Dunedin prior to the game to make their High-A debut. Barger finished 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI, Ray had a hit and Morris was hit by a pitch and scored a run.

Alex Nolan gets the ball for Vancouver in game two on Wednesday night and will be opposed by Hillsboro’s Justin Vernia. Coverage begins with the Vancouver Canadians Pregame Show, powered by North Beach Agency, at 7:00 p.m. followed by first pitch at 7:05 p.m. on Sportsnet 650. Individual tickets for remaining home games in Hillsboro are available now at CanadiansBaseball.com.