The Hops had a great week.
After splitting their series with Spokane a week prior, Hillsboro took five-of-six games with visiting Tri-City, improving their record to 32-29 prior to their seven-game series (one make-up game) at Everett this week.
The Hops tallied 37 runs and 58 hits in their six games with the Dust Devils, batting .287 as a team.
In all, five Hillsboro batters hit over .300 for the series, with Andrew Pintar (.438) and Neyfy Castillo (.435) exceeding .400.
They weren’t bad on the mound either, with Spencer Giesting and Roman Angelo each shutting out Tri-City in their starts, while Joe Elbis started two games and allowed just three earned runs while striking out 13 in 14 combined innings pitched.
Despite their winning ways, the Hops failed to make up any ground on first place Spokane who won six of their seven games against Vancouver.
Organizational news and notes…Hillsboro’s Roman Angelo hasn’t allowed an earned run and has struck out 13 in his last 11 innings…Hillsboro’s Alfred Morillo has allowed just a single hit in eight appearances and nine innings over the last month…Hillsboro’s Andrew Pintar is batting .450 with two home runs and nine RBI over his last 11 games…Hillsboro’s Gavin Conticello has 14 RBI over his last 12 games…Former Hop and top prospect Jordan Lawlar was 8-for-20 with a home run and eight RBI in four games with Triple-A Reno last week, as he works his way back from injury…Former Hop and West Linn native Tim Tawa batted .391 with two home runs with Double-A Amarillo last week…Former Hop Billy Corcoran has allowed just two earned runs in his last 19 innings at Double-A Amarillo…
Below is a recap of last week’s games:
June 11 — Hillsboro 3, Tri-City 0
Death, taxes, and the Hops taking Game 1 of a series.
For the fourth straight series, Hillsboro defeated their opponent in the first of a six-game set, this time beating Tri-City 3-0 on Tuesday, June 11, at Hillsboro Ballpark.
Joe Elbis — the reigning NWL Pitcher of the Month — again dominated from the mound, allowing just three hits while striking out eight in eight shutout innings.
Offensively, the Hops got two runs in the second inning and another in the seventh, led by Jose Fernandez who drove in two of Hillsboro’s three runs with a ground ball single in the second, finishing 1-for-2 with two RBI and a run-scored.
Additionally, Neyfey Castillo tallied two hits in four at-bats.
The win was Elbis’ fourth of the season, and allowed the righthander to lower his ERA to 1.55.
Alfred Morillo picked up the save for Hillsboro, striking out three in a hitless ninth inning.
Chris Clark to the loss for Tri-City, allowing two earned runs on three hits, while striking out six in six innings of work.
June 12 — Hillsboro 4, Tri-City 1
At this point, it’s not a matter of if a Hillsboro pitcher will dazzle, but rather just who will do it.
On this night, it was Spencer Giesting who stymied Tri-City hitters en route to a 4-1 Hops win on Wednesday night, June 12, at Hillsboro Ballpark.
Giesting pitched seven innings, allowing no earned runs on just three hits, while striking out eight.
The 22-year-old lefthander has allowed no runs in seven of his 10 starts this season and has an ERA of 1.50.
Hillsboro scored a run in the first inning on a Jean Walters sacrifice fly, then got a single run apiece in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings before Hops reliever Eli Saul allowed the Dust Devils’ only run of the night on a Jadiel Sanchez solo home run in the eighth.
Walters, Gavin Conticello, Jose Fernandez and Manuel Pena each had an RBI, while Fernandez, Andrew Pintar, and Christian Cerda all tallied two hits in the game.
The win was the second straight for the Hops and third in their last four tries.
June 13 — Hillsboro 5, Tri-City 4
Why not a comeback?
After two dominant wins to start their series with the Dust Devils, the Hops instead chose to come from behind in a 5-4 win over Tri-City on Thursday, June 13, at Hillsboro Ballpark.
Trailing 4-3 to start the ninth inning, and with two outs and no one on base, the Hops used a walk and a Gavin Conticello double to tie the game. Then an inning later got the winning run on a Jack Hurley single, and ultimately a third straight win.
Hurley was one of three Hops — including Conticello and Andrew Pintar — with two hits in the game, all of whom also tallied and RBI.
Hillsboro took an early 3-0 lead after two innings, but watched the Dust Devils get two runs in both the third and fifth innings to give the visitors a 4-3 edge until the ninth.
Caleb Ketchup and Jadiel Sanchez each had three hits for Tri-City, with Ketchup adding a third inning home run to the mix.
Hillsboro starting pitcher Avery Short was solid, allowing two earned runs and striking out six in six innings of work.
Tri-City’s Camden Minacci took the loss, while Alfred Morillo got the win for the Hops.
June 14 — Hillsboro 5, Tri-City 0
Andrew Pintar was good, Roman Angelo was better, and a solid bullpen performance led to a 5-0 win over Tri-City on Friday night, June 14, at Hillsboro Ballpark.
The win was the fourth straight for Hillsboro who with the win moved into second place in the Northwest League standings.
Pintar finished the night 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs-scored, including the outfielder’s ninth home run of the season.
Angelo, a 24-year-old who was making his fifth start for the Hops since being called up from Visalia, was dominant, allowing just a single hit while striking out six over five shutout innings. The 6-foot-5 righthander has allowed one run over his last 17.1 innings pitched, lowering his Hops ERA to 2.54.
Relievers Alec Baker, Carlos Meza and Zane Russell were equally impressive in relief, allowing just two hits while striking out five over the game’s final four innings.
Hillsboro got four of their five runs in the fifth inning, thanks in large part to a Jack Hurley two-RBI double, along with Pintar’s two-run homer.
Jean Walters and Christian Cerda also tallied two hits in the game.
June 15 — Tri-City 6, Hillsboro 3
All good things come to an end.
After four consecutive victories, it was Tri-City’s turn to get a win and they did so, defeating the Hops 6-3 on Saturday night, June 15, at Hillsboro Ballpark.
The Dust Devils were led by Matt Coutney who had three hits, two RBI and two runs-scored, including a solo home run in the seventh inning that provided the visiting Devils cushion against a second straight late-inning Hillsboro comeback.
The Hops took an early 2-1 lead on a first inning two-run Jack Hurley home run, but saw Tri-City respond with three runs in the fourth inning, along with a run apiece in both the seventh and ninth innings en route to their first win of the series.
Hurley’s home run was his seventh of the season.
Neyfey Castillo and Jean Walters each had two hits for the Hops.
Walbert Urena got the win for the Dust Devils, allowing two earned runs while striking out four in six innings of work, while Hillsboro starter Logan Clayton took the loss, allowing three earned runs on six hits over five innings.
June 16 — Hillsboro 17, Tri-City 4
They say Sundays are supposed to be lazy, but there was nothing lazy about Hillsboro’s bats on this Sunday, as the Hops pounded 17 hits en route to a 17-4 drubbing of Tri-City on June 16, at Hillsboro Ballpark.
The Hops blew open a 1-1 game with 12 runs in the fourth inning, an inning that saw the home team send 18 batters to the plate, record nine base hits, and have 18 players reach base. All franchise records.
Neyfy Castillo and Gavin Conticello each had four hits for the Hops, and between they combined to go 8-for-9 with a home run, triple, double, five RBI and six runs-scored.
In all, eight Hops batters tallied hits in the game, five of which had two or more.
Hops starting pitcher Joe Elbis allowed three earned runs on five hits over six innings.
Reliever Landon Sims was dominant in relief, throwing 1.2 shutout innings, striking out five and walking none. Including striking out the side on just 10 pitches in the ninth inning.
The win was the fifth in six games with Tri-City and put the Hops in second place alone in the NWL standings.
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