McCarthy Swipes Winning Run In Boise Clincher

Jake McCarthy put the wheels in motion for another Hillsboro series win.
The speedy outfielder from Virginia beat out a bunt base hit in the eighth inning, then forced a Boise error trying to steal third later in the inning as the Hops defeated the Hawks 6-5, taking the three-game road series two games to one.

The Diamondbacks' top college draft pick, 39th overall this year, led the Cavaliers in steals this season despite being limited to just 20 games by an injury. Reaching base for the fourth consecutive game as a Hop, McCarthy was on second following a P.J. Poulin wild pitch when he decided to steal third. Poulin (0-1) stepped off the rubber and appeared to have him dead to rights, but his throw to third base caromed off Danny Edgeworth's glove for an error and McCarthy raced home with the tiebreaking run.
The Hops bullpen took care of the rest. Brian Christian (1-0) tossed two perfect innings, fanning the side in the seventh. Josh Green came on to pitch the eighth and gave up a one-out single to Luis Castro, who promptly reached third after a stolen base and a throwing error on Hops' catcher Andy Yerzy. With Edgeworth at the plate and one out, Green struck out the former NWL All-Star on a 2-2 fastball, then got University of Washington 9th-rounder Willie MacIver to whiff on a 3-2 heater to escape the jam.
Wesley Rodriguez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save, fanning Aubrey McCarty to close out the contest.
The Hops had a 5-1 lead in the fifth and starting pitcher Adrian Del Moral was in cruise control, having retired 12 of the last 13 batters. But a one-out RBI double by McCarty and a two-base fielding error on third baseman Jose Caballero set the table for Luke Morgan's two-run triple, his seventh hit of the series, and suddenly it was a 5-4 game with the tying run at third. Trevor McKenna came out of the pen and threw a pitch to the backstop, sending Morgan to the plate to even the game 5-5. A walk to Cade Harris and another wild pitch followed by a deep fly to right put the go-ahead run at third. But McKenna buckled down to fan Edgeworth and the rest of the Hops pen combined to allow just one baserunner over the final four innings.
Keshawn Lynch had his best game as a Hop, going 3-for-3 with a two-run homer in the fourth inning. The slick-fielding second baseman reached base four times on the night. Joey Rose doubled twice and walk, driving in a run and scoring a run.
For Edgeworth, it was the end of a nightmarish series. Riding an 11-game hitting streak coming in, the second-year Hawk, who had a league-best 22-game hit streak in 2017 that ended in Hillsboro, went 0-for-12 over the three games. 
The Hops return to Ron Tonkin Field Friday night for the opening game of a five-game series against the Spokane Indians. The radio broadcast returns to NBC Sports Northwest Rip City Radio 620 AM with pregame coverage beginning at 7 p.m., first pitch at 7:05.