EVERETT, Wash. --- On a day where the world's gaze was upon the Puget Sound area
EVERETT, Wash. --- On a day where the world's gaze was upon the Puget Sound area, the Hillsboro Hops have entered a brand new baseball world. A world where their offense has been the equal, if not superior to their deep, talented starting pitching.
For the third game in four, the Hops (1-0 2nd half, 33-34 overall) put a double-digit hit and run total on the board, parlaying a pair of four-run innings and two impressive escape acts into an 11-3 win at Everett Friday night.
The recipe in all three wins has been similar: runs in the first inning and insurance runs in the late innings. The difference on this night was a big middle inning as well.
Leading 1-0 in the fourth, Hillsboro drew a rare walk from the Northwest League leader in walk rate, Colton Shaw (4-3). With Jose Mejia aboard, Yassel Soler followed with the second of his four hits on this night. One out later, Carlos Virahonda rifled a single through the shortstop hole to load the bases.
In the half inning prior, Everett (0-1, 33-34) put runners at second and third with nobody out, but Hillsboro starting pitcher Rio Britton (3-3) struck out three consecutive Mariners' prospects: Johnny Farmelo (#6 per MLB Pipeline), Luke Stevenson (#8) and Felnin Celesten (#7) to escape the jam.
There would be no escape for Shaw. Kenny Castillo belted a double over the head of Carlos Jimenez in right and off the base of the wall to bring home two. In the Hops only loss of the series Wednesday, Castillo twice came up with bases loaded in the late innings and hit a shot to Jimenez that fell just short of clearing that wall in the ninth.
Hillsboro wasn't done. Modeifi Marte banged a hit into left to plate Virahonda and Castillo was able to race home when Curtis Washington, Jr. booted the ball in left.
Everett defensive miscues have been a recurring theme of the series. They even had three errors in their lone win this week. Castillo's was just the first of five unearned runs the Hops would score.
Josh Caron led off the fourth with a solo home run off Britton, but the lefty was able to pitch into the sixth inning, departing after back-to-back walks. He fanned eight, walked five and surrendered four hits.
Joangel Gonzalez came in and promptly walked Brandon Eike to load the bases with none out. But once again, the Hops pulled a Houdini act. Gonzalez got Jimenez and Luis Suisbel on back-to-back infield flies, then fanned Axel Sanchez looking at a nasty curveball to erase what could have been another big inning for the home team.
Everett did cut the lead to 5-3 on a two-run Luke Stevenson home run to center in the seventh, but the momentum flew out the window with a succession of mistakes in the final two innings as the Hops plated two runs in the eighth and four more in the 9th.
The capper on the night was a three-run home run to center field by 19-year-old shorstop Kayson Cunningham. One night after his breakout, four-hit offensive performance, the #2 Diamondbacks' prospect authored his first big fly in high-A, only his second home run of the season
Sawyer Hawks closed out the game by retiring six of seven batters over the eighth and ninth, striking out four.
Soler had his second four-hit game in less than a week, driving in two and scoring two runs. Cunningham also walked and scored in the eighth to go with his three-run jack off Gabriel Sosa. Fellow prospect J.D. Dix (#6 Diamondbacks) singled and walked and scored a run. He has at least one hit and one stolen base in all three games he has played with the Hops. And Castillo had a pair of hits and two runs scored, raising his team-leading batting average to .296.
The Hops will go for their second consecutive winning road series and fourth consecutive series win overall Saturday night. Pregame airtime is at 7 p.m. on Rip City Radio 620 with first pitch scheduled for 7:05.