SPOKANE, WA (June 4, 2026) — The Hillsboro Hops held a 1-0 lead into the 8th inning and were six outs away from their third straight win on Thursday, but Spokane rallied for a run in the eighth and in the bottom of the ninth for a 2-1 walk-off victory Wednesday night at Avista Stadium.
Wellington Aracena had his best outing of the season on Thursday night, as he both set a season high in pitches (89) and innings pitched (5.2). He kept Spokane off the board for the first four frames, where the Hops took the lead.
Hillsboro broke through in the fifth inning when Yassel Soler launched a solo home run to left field, his fifth homer of the season. The 423-foot blast accounted for Hillsboro's lone run and gave the visitors a 1-0 advantage.
Spokane got two base runners in the sixth inning with two outs, as Aracena exited the game with two on base just shy of a six-inning shutout. Sandro Santana came in and got the job done on one pitch, getting a weak groundout to keep the score 1-0. Aracena’s final line was 5.2 innings, 0 ER and 2 SO.
Johnson Jr. was sharp over five innings for Spokane, allowing four hits and striking out four. Fisher Jameson took over in the sixth and was equally effective, striking out four over three scoreless innings. He stranded Trent Youngblood at third base in the sixth and erased a seventh-inning single by José Mejía when catcher Jack O'Dowd threw out the Hillsboro runner attempting to steal second.
John West picked up where he left off against Everett, as he continued to dance around runners in scoring position and avoiding any damage despite a couple walks and hits. Wallace Clark helped him out defensively in the seventh with an unassisted, inning-ending double play.
Spokane finally broke through in the eighth as Ethan Hedges opened the inning with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Jack O'Dowd flew out, Robert Calaz blooped a single into right field to score Hedges and tie the game at 1-1.
Hillsboro didn’t score in the ninth, and West came back out for the bottom of the inning. Kevin Fitzer started the inning with a single before Kelvin Hidalgo popped up a sacrifice bunt attempt. Tommy Hopfe followed with a double to right field, but Hillsboro executed a perfect relay from Trent Youngblood to Wallace Clark to Kenny Castillo to cut down Fitzer at the plate and preserve the 1-1 tie. The Hops elected to intentionally walk Jacob Humphrey to create a force at every base. Instead, Spokane continued to grind out at-bats. West walked Ethan Hedges to load the bases, and after a mound visit, Jack O'Dowd worked a full-count walk that forced home Hopfe with the winning run.
The walk-off capped Spokane's comeback and handed Hillsboro a tough-luck defeat despite allowing just two runs all night.
Soler's home run accounted for the Hops' only offense. José Mejía and Yerald Nin each added singles, while Youngblood doubled in the sixth and reached base twice.
Hillsboro will look to bounce back in game four of the six-game series Friday night at Avista Stadium. The pregame show will start at 6:20 on Rip City Radio 620 AM.