HILLSBORO – Unconverted early chances doomed the Tri-City Dust Devils (31-27) Tuesday night in their first visit to a brand-new ballpark, and a power display from the Hillsboro Hops (27-31) polished off a 10-2 victory over the visitors in the series opener at Hops Ballpark.
Tri-City had two runners on with no one out in the top of the 2nd, as well as the bases loaded with two out in the inning, but could not get the needed hit in either situation. The Dust Devils also drew two 3rd inning walks off Hillsboro starter John West (3-5) but could not score, with West beating Tri-City for the first time in his Hops career.
While the Dust Devils struggled to get their offense going, Hillsboro piled on the first two of a four home run night in the bottom of the 2nd. 1B Modeifi Marte led off the inning with a solo homer off starter Francis Texido (1-4), with 3B Wallace Clark adding a two-run shot to make it 3-0 for the Hops through two innings.
A 5-0 Hillsboro lead finally got dented in the top of the 7th inning when LF Aaron Graeber drew a leadoff walk and SS Capri Ortiz mashed a two-run homer off reliever Luke Dotson over the left field wall. That made it a 5-2 game, but the Hops scored twice in the 7th and three times in the 8th to put the game away.
The middle infield carried the load offensively, with Ortiz going 2-for-4 and 2B David Mershon 2-for-5 to cover four of the team’s seven hits.
Even if Tri-City had managed to win the opening game of the series, the Eugene Emeralds’ 6-5 win over the Spokane Indians at PK Park clinched the Northwest League First Half title for the Emeralds. The standings reset at the end of the half, after games played on June 18.
ROUND TWO IN THE ‘BORO
Tri-City and Hillsboro line up for game two of their six-game series at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday night at Hops Ballpark. Left-hander Lucas Knowles (4-1, 2.95 ERA) toes the slab for the Dust Devils, countered by right-hander Patrick Forbes (0-0, 3.86 ERA) of the Hops.
Free broadcast coverage on the MiLB app and dustdevilsbaseball.com will begin with the Dust Devils Pregame Show at 6:15 p.m. Fans can also watch the games for free (Hillsboro broadcast) on Bally Sports Live, and via subscription on MLB.tv and the MiLB app.
Tri-City comes back home both to finish up the First Half and begin the Second Half in taking on the Eugene Emeralds for six games beginning on a Coca-Cola Tuesday, June 16 at 7:05 p.m. at Gesa Stadium. For tickets to the Eugene series, as well as to all 2026 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.