Fielding Woes Cost Hops in 8-4 Defeat

Hillsboro, OR (June 8, 2022) – The Hops came into the game with the best fielding percentage in the Northwest League, but four errors would prove costly in game two against Everett. Ryan Bliss had a pair of doubles, with seven different Hops’ recording a hit in the 8-4 loss.

For the seventh straight road game, Everett would strike first. Dariel Gomez recorded his fourth RBI of the series on a ground out in the first, but the AquaSox weren’t done there. Later in the inning, Andy Thomas hit a home run for the second day in a row, extending the Everett led to 3-0.

Danny Oriente extended his hit streak to eight games with an RBI double in the second, bringing Hillsboro within two.

Everett continued to put pressure on Luke Albright in the third inning, when James Parker hit a triple to the right-center field gap scoring Alberto Rodriguez. Parker finished the game with three hits.

Albright would be charged with the loss, as he threw 82 pitches over five innings, allowing six hits and four earned runs while striking out three.

In consecutive at-bats during the sixth inning, A.J. Vukovich committed throwing errors while trying to record a force out at home. A wild pitch by Andrew Saalfrank would plate another run in the inning, as Everett took a 7-1 lead.

Hillsboro wouldn’t go down without a fight, scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Oriente picked up his second RBI of the game, with Shane Muntz recording an RBI single and Vukovich an RBI Triple that just missed leaving the yard.

The backend of the Hops bullpen was very impressive today, as Julio Frias, Christian Montes De Oca and Kyle Backhus combined to strike out eight hitters over 3 innings. Frias and Montes De Oca both struck out the side, with Backus recording two strikeouts in the ninth.

Everett was just 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position, but made up for it with the Hops’ fielding miscues. Hillsboro also grounded into two double plays in the game.

With the 8-4 win, Everett has a seven-game win streak against Hillsboro.

Hillsboro (26-25) and the Everett AquaSox (23-29) will play game three on Thursday at 1:05, with the pre-game show at 12:50 on Rip City Radio 620 and MiLB.tv. Important to note, 6/9, 6/10 and 6/12 are all 1:05 matinee starts.