Hillsboro, OR (July 30, 2026) - After letting a late lead slip away in heartbreaking fashion Wednesday night, the Hillsboro Hops wasted little time bouncing back Thursday. Behind a career-best performance from former University of Oregon right-hander Rio Britton and an offensive outburst that produced 16 hits, the Hops rolled to a 13-3 victory over the Everett AquaSox at Hops Ballpark. Britton struck out a career-high 10 batters over six innings, while Hillsboro's offense broke the game open with six runs in the eighth inning. The Hops collected eight hits in the frame, with seven consecutive batters recording hits during the rally.
Hillsboro scored first for the second straight night in the opening inning. Slade Caldwell led off the bottom of the first with a double before JD Dix walked. Kenny Castillo followed with a line-drive single to left, bringing Caldwell home for a 1-0 lead.
Everett answered in the second after Carlos Jimenez doubled and eventually scored on a throwing error following a stolen base attempt to tie the game at one.
The Hops regained the lead in the bottom half. Wallace Clark singled before Avery Owusu-Asiedu reached on a fielder's choice. Diosfran Cabeza reached on an infield play that was misplayed by Everett shortstop Austin St. Laurent, allowing Owusu-Asiedu to advance to third. Caldwell then executed a sacrifice bunt that plated Owusu-Asiedu for a 2-1 Hillsboro advantage.
Britton settled in from there, striking out six of the next nine batters he faced. He retired the side in order in the third, punching out Korbyn Dickerson, Luke Stevenson and Brandon Eike to keep the Hops in front
Everett briefly grabbed momentum in the fifth. Luis Suisbel singled ahead of Axel Sanchez, who launched a two-run homer to left field to put the AquaSox on top 3-2. The lead didn't last long. Kayson Cunningham started the bottom of the sixth with a single and scored on a wild pitch to even the game. Later in the inning, Clark lined an RBI single to right to score Jakey Josepha before Cabeza followed with a two-out RBI single to left, giving Hillsboro a 5-3 lead.
The Hops added two more in the seventh. Dix walked and Cunningham was hit by a pitch before an errant throw by reliever Calvin Schapira allowed Dix to race home. Castillo then lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Cunningham and extending the lead to 7-3.
Any remaining drama disappeared an inning later. Owusu-Asiedu opened the eighth with a double against new Everett reliever Ben Hernandez. Cabeza followed with an RBI single before Caldwell, Dix, Cunningham, Soler, Castillo and Clark all recorded consecutive hits. Cunningham's two-run triple pushed the advantage to 10-3, Soler followed with an RBI single, Castillo added another run-scoring hit and Clark capped the outburst with a two-run triple to right as Hillsboro sent 10 batters to the plate against Ben Hernandez who was charged with six runs and eight hits in the inning.
The Hops finished with 16 hits, matching a season high. Clark led the way with three hits and three RBI, while Cunningham scored three times, tripled and drove in two. Castillo collected two hits and two RBI, Cabeza had two hits and two RBI, and Caldwell reached base three times while scoring twice.
Luis Suisbel was the lone bright spot offensively for Everett, finishing 3-for-3 with a double and a triple. Entering the ninth needing only a home run to complete the cycle, Suisbel instead grounded out to shortstop Wallace Clark to end the game.
Britton (6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB) earned the victory, striking out 10 to surpass his previous career high. Tayler Montiel and Sawyer Hawks combined to strike out six more over the next two innings before Luke Craig closed out the ninth. Hillsboro pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts while holding Everett to just six hits.
After suffering a crushing defeat in game two of the series, the Hops responded with one of their most complete performances of the season, finishing 7-for-15 with runners in scoring position while outscoring Everett 11-0 over the final four innings. The clubs continue their six-game series Friday night at Hops Ballpark.