Dust Devils Hold Off Hops for Series-Opening Win

Two hits in big moments backed a strong pitching performance by the Tri-City Dust Devils (1-3 2H) Wednesday night, helping them hold off the Hillsboro Hops (1-3 2H) for a 3-2 win at Gesa Stadium.

The first big hit for Tri-City came in the bottom of the 1^st inning, following a leadoff single by LF Joe Stewart and a walk drawn by 2B Adrian Placencia. Both moved up on a groundout, putting them in scoring position for SS Arol Vera. The switch-hitting Venezuelan lined a pitch from Hillsboro starter Joe Elbis (0-2) into left center field for a two-run single that scored both Stewart and Placencia for a 2-0 lead.

The second big hit came with one out in the bottom of the 5^th, when Stewart launched a ball over the right field wall for his second home run of the season. The opposite field solo shot, Stewart’s first longball since May 3 at Everett’s Funko Field, staked the Dust Devils to a 3-0 advantage.

Tri-City starter Caden Dana (2-2) did the bulk of the work on the other side, throwing six scoreless innings in his longest outing as a Dust Devil. He gave up only three hits and two walks, striking out seven in his second straight win at Gesa Stadium. He also got some help from his defense, including an 8-6-5 putout that caught Hops SS Jesus Valdez trying to stretch a double into a triple in the top of the 2^nd inning. An inning later, 3B Werner Blakely made a great diving play and throw to first to rob Hillsboro LF Channy Ortiz of a hit with a runner on.

Relievers Emilker Guzman and Roman Phansalkar combined to get the final eight outs after the Hops got on the board with an RBI single by Valdez in the top of the 7^th. Guzman got two big strikeouts to keep it a 3-1 Tri-City lead through seven innings. He made it through the 8^th as well, though slugging Hillsboro 3B Ivan Melendez got him for a solo home run, his 15^th longball of the season, to left center to make it a 3-2 game.

Phansalkar got the final three outs in the 9^th for his second save of 2023, taking a different route than usual. Hops DH Gary Mattis, Jr., started the inning with an opposite-field single to right, putting the potential tying run aboard. Phansalkar then struck out Valdez looking and, during the next at-bat, picked Mattis, Jr., off of first for the second out. The righty finished out the ballgame by inducing 1B Shane Muntz to pop out to Blakely, giving the Dust Devils their first win of the Second Half.

The home nine worked around having just four hits on the night via two multi-hit games from Joe Stewart and Arol Vera. The victory also evened the season series between Tri-City and Hillsboro at eight wins apiece.

Game two of the six-gamer between the two sides is scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. first pitch at Gesa Stadium, with right-hander Cole Percival (0-2, 6.75 ERA) starting for the Dust Devils and righty Dylan Ray (2-4, 5.77 ERA) countering for the Hops. It’s also Get Away Night at the ballpark presented by Legends Casino and Hotel, with fans getting the chance to win a getaway to Legends. Broadcast coverage will begin with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m. both here and at the MiLB First Pitch app.

Gates will open at 6:05 p.m. with game times staying at 7:05 p.m. throughout the series, which culminates with patriotic postgame fireworks presented by UScellular to celebrate Independence Day. Tickets for the series, including Friday’s Marvel’s Defenders of the Diamond Night, are on sale now with special ticket rates 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).