Hops Open Second Half With 5-3 Loss To Boise
In the travel stakes, last night's series opener between the Hillsboro Hops and Boise Hawks was a dead heat. Both teams played three-hour-plus games before taking long overnight bus rides to get to Ron Tonkin Field Tuesday.But the team traveling away from home has had the edge in this series
In the travel stakes, last night's series opener between the Hillsboro Hops and Boise Hawks was a dead heat. Both teams played three-hour-plus games before taking long overnight bus rides to get to Ron Tonkin Field Tuesday.
But the team traveling away from home has had the edge in this series and that was the case once again as Boise defeated Hillsboro 5-3 in front of 3,005 fans at Ron Tonkin Field in the opening game of the second half of the Northwest League schedule.
The first-half South Division champion Hops and Hawks split their first six games, with each team winning two on the road. Boise's success Tuesday keyed on a most unlikely player as undrafted free agent L.J. Hatch had his second straight productive night since being recalled from Pioneer League Grand Junction.
Hatch capped a three-run Boise second inning with a two-out, two-run single up the middle off Hillsboro starter
After the Hops closed to within 3-2 on a two-run home run by
In the sixth, the Hops began to mount a one-out rally. Caballero singled to right and
Then Hatch came up again in the seventh, singling up the middle off reliever
The Hops answered with a run in their half of the seventh. Martinez doubled off
McCarthy walked in the ninth with two outs, but former UConn closer P.J. Poulin fanned
Former LSU reliever
McCarthy's base hit in the seventh extended his current hitting streak to 12 games. He went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks. Caballero had two hits for the Hops.
Game two of the series comes your way at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday night with pregame coverage beginning at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Northwest Rip City Radio 620 AM and ripcityradio.com