EVERETT, Wash. -- It didn't take long for two of the Hillsboro Hops' four newcomers to get into the action. And there was plenty of action to be be had Tuesday night at Everett Memorial Stadium
The Hops (31-33) nearly blew a 7-0 early lead, but behind 16 hits they poured it on late to win going away, 12-5 in the first of a three-game series at the Seattle Mariners' affiliate Everett Aquasox (32-32).
Four new players joined the Hops for the road trip and two were in the lineup Tuesday. J.D. Dix (MLB Pipeline #6 Diamondbacks prospect) and Jakey Josepha were at either end of the lineup card and both made positive contributions right out of the starting gate.
Dix lined a 2-0 pitch to short that glanced off the glove of Everett shortstop Felnin Celesten for a two-base error. Jose Mejia followed with a double off the right field wall and Dix raced home with the first of three runs in his Hops' debut.
A double play kept the Hops from scoring more in the first, but a defensive play from Josepha kept the Aquasox off the board as well. The lanky, 22-year old center fielder from Curacao played a Celesten shot off the short porch in right center at Everett's quirky ballpark as if he'd been doing it his whole life. An accurate one-hop strike to Kayson Cunningham at second base nailed Celesten in his pursuit of a double and ended Everett's first inning.
The Hops sent eight men to the plate in the second and third innings, plating three runs in each to run up a 7-0 advantage.
Josepha drove home Avery Owusu-Asiedo with an RBI single to right in his first trip to the plate in the second inning and took second base when Modeifi Marte was thrown out trying to go from first to third. With two outs, Josepha stole third base without a throw. Dix followed with a ground ball to third base, but Brandon Eike's throw to first sailed high and Josepha scored to make it 3-0 Hops. Dix stole second and advanced to third when catcher Josh Caron's throw skipped into center field. Mejia followed with a sharp single to right and it was 4-0 Hillsboro.
Both Josepha and Dix drove in runs as the Hops plated three more in the third, bringing an end to Everett starting pitcher Taylor Dollard's night. Dollard (1-6) was tagged with eight hits and seven runs, four earned with three walks and one strikeout over 2 2/3 innings.
Comfortably in front 7-0 after Dix's single to left center plated Josepha, the Hops surge subsided with four scoreless innings from Aquasox relievers Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman and Calvin Schapira. Meanwhile, the Frogs began climbing back into the race.
Carlos Jimenez tripled to the right field corner to score Brandon Eike in the fourth inning. Back-to-back base hits by Axel Sanchez and Anthony Donofrio led off the fifth. With the bases loaded and one out, Sanchez scored on a balk by Hops' starting pitcher Kyle Ayers (4-2). Ayers fanned Felnin Celesten, but a wild pitch allowed Donofrio to score.
Ayers was out after five solid frames, surrendering seven hits, three earned runs and just one walk with six strikeouts.
The Aquasox plated two more runs after stringing together three hits and a sacrifice fly off Joangel Gonzalez in the sixth inning. Suddenly it was 7-5 and top Aquasox prospect Jonny Farmelo was at the plate representing the tying run. Gonzalez fanned Farmelo to end the threat, then pitched around a two out error in the seventh, retiring Northwest League co-home run leader Brandon Eike on a grounder to Dix at second.
After weathering the storm, the Hops pulled away again, scoring twice in the eighth and three more times in the ninth to win comfortably.
Kayson Cunningham drove in runs in each of his final two at bats, Kenny Castillo drove home a pair in the ninth on a double that just fell a foot or two short of being a three-run homer and Dix singled for the second time, stole his second base of the game and scored his third run of the night in the ninth.
All nine Hops reached base, eight of the nine reached base at least twice and had at least one hit. All nine either scored or drove in a run.
Mejia reached base five times in six trips, going 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI and two bases on balls. Castillo and Marte each added three hits.
Josepha not only threw out Celesten on the bases, but he also robbed the Aquasox shortstop of another potential extra-base hit with a leaping catch at the center field fence in the bottom of the fourth inning
On a night with 27 hits and 17 combined runs, remarkably not one ball left the yard. Quite unusual on a night where a stiff breeze was blowing out toward right field where the fence in the power alley is just 330 feet from home plate.
The Hops have already matched their win total from their last trip to Everett in early May. With a win Wednesday night, they can pull even with the third-place Aquasox and potentially climb within a game of second-place Tri-City.
Both Wednesday and Thursday night's games are at 7:05 p..m. with pregame coverage beginning at 6:50 p.m. on Rip City Radio 620 AM.