Canadians Can't Match Hops Thursday

HILLSBORO, OR –The Canadians dropped game three of their series against the Hillsboro Hops [AZ] 4-3 Thursday night at Hillsboro Ballpark.

The C’s scored in the opening inning for the second consecutive night. Jace Bohrofen led off with a double, went to third on a flyout then scored on an infield single off the bat of Peyton Williams.

A 1-0 lead lasted until the bottom of the second. A one-out hit by pitch and two singles evened the score at one until a three-run fourth put the Hops ahead 4-1.

Scoreless for four consecutive innings, the C’s got back on the scoreboard in the sixth. Je’Von Ward and Jackson Hornung hit consecutive doubles to cut the deficit to two runs.

Starter Connor O’Halloran (L, 2-7) looked solid in his first start against the Hops since he surrendered a career-worst 11 runs in two innings the last time he faced them on July 25. The Mississauga, ON native went six innings, allowed four runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out two.

The C’s didn’t go quietly. They had the tying run at the plate in every inning from the sixth through the eighth then got a two-out solo homer from Quebec City, QC native Nic Deschamps in the ninth that cut the deficit to one. Bohrofen followed with a single to bring the go-ahead run to the plate, but a strikeout ended the game.

Despite the loss, Spokane was defeated in extra innings by Tri-City earlier in the evening. That means the Canadians will wake up tomorrow one game out of first place in the second half and six games up on a playoff spot with nine games left to play.

Game four of the series is Friday night at 7:05 p.m. Catch RE/MAX Canadians Baseball on Sportsnet 650.