Pasco, WA (August 4, 2026) - The Hillsboro Hops kept rolling Tuesday night at Gesa Stadium, extending their winning streak to five games behind a brilliant outing from Junior Ciprian and another productive night from José Mejía. Ciprian took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in just his third High-A start, while Mejía collected two RBI doubles as Hillsboro opened its series with a 7-2 victory over the Tri-City Dust Devils.
Ciprian (1-0) was dominant from the outset, retiring the first six hitters he faced before issuing a pair of walks in the second. The 20-year-old right-hander stranded both runners after inducing an inning-ending double play, then settled back in to keep Tri-City hitless through the first five innings.
The Hops broke through in the third inning against Tri-City starter Zachary Redner. Avery Owusu-Asiedu singled and stole second before Slade Caldwell walked to put two aboard. Mejía then ripped an RBI double to center to score Owusu-Asiedu, and Kayson Cunningham followed with an RBI single to right that plated Caldwell for a 2-0 lead.
Hillsboro added three more runs in the fourth, taking advantage of Redner's control issues. Yassel Soler and Jakey Josepha drew walks before Kenny Castillo loaded the bases with another free pass. Owusu-Asiedu lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Soler, Caldwell drove in Josepha on a fielder's choice and Mejía capped the inning with his second RBI double of the game, extending the lead to 5-0.
The no-hit bid finally ended with one out in the sixth when Hayden Alvarez lined a single to left field. Ciprian responded by retiring Jorge Ruiz on a flyout before striking out Harold Coll to end his night. He allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings, walking five and striking out five on 75 pitches.
The Hops tacked on another run in the eighth after Soler reached on a throwing error. Josepha singled before Caldwell lined an RBI single to right, making it 6-0.
John West handled the final three innings to record his second save of the season. Tri-City broke up the shutout with two unearned runs in the eighth after consecutive Hillsboro throwing errors, but West retired four of the final five hitters to finish off the victory.
Hillsboro answered Tri-City's two-run eighth with an insurance run in the ninth. JD Dix singled, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch before Kenny Castillo lined an RBI single to left to restore the five-run cushion.
Mejía finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI, giving him 13 doubles on the season. Caldwell scored once, drove in two runs and reached base twice, while Josepha reached base four times with two singles and two walks.
The Hops finished with 10 hits and drew nine walks, going 6-for-16 with runners in scoring position while leaving 12 runners on base. Tri-City managed just three hits all night and finished 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
The Hops will look for their sixth straight win on Wednesday night's second game of the series in Pasco. First pitch is at 7:05 with the pregame show starting at 6:50 on Rip City Radio 620 AM.