HILLSBORO – The Tri-City Dust Devils (25-31 2H, 60-62) held multiple multi-run leads in extra innings Wednesday night at Hops Ballpark, but the Hillsboro Hops (26-30 2H, 58-64) found a way to keep themselves alive and then take an 11-8 walk-off win in 12 innings in perhaps the wildest game of the season for the visitors.
The game did not start as a wild one, but more like a game Tri-City and Hillsboro have often played: low-scoring and tightly pitched. The Hops led 1-0 to the top of the 8th, where CF Hayden Alvarez hit a two-run home run with 1B Slate Alford aboard to take a 2-1 lead. Hillsboro responded with an RBI double by DH J.D. Dix on the bottom side of the frame to tie the game 2-2, and the game went to extras.
Things went wild from there. C Peter Burns started the top of the 10th, with auto runner Harold Coll at second, by blasting a two-run home run to right to give the Dust Devils a 4-2 lead. Alford then doubled and later scored on a two-out infield single by RF Jorge Ruiz, who went from first to third on a single by SS Kendrey Maduro. DH Ryan Nicholson, who had had a tough night prior, then pulled an RBI single to right to score Ruiz and cap a four-run frame.
Tri-City’s 6-2 lead would not hold, though, with the Hops scoring four runs to tie the game with only one out in the bottom of the 10th. The Dust Devils then held the line there, forcing an 11th inning which started in the same way: a two-run Tri-City homer, this time by Coll. The visitors then led 8-6 going to the bottom of the 11th and got the first two outs without issue. Substitute Hillsboro LF Yerald Nin, who ran in the 8th, then hit just his third High-A homer of the year to right to again even the game at 8-8.
The 12th inning ended up where the separation came for the squads. Capri Ortiz, pinch-running to begin the inning, attempted a steal of third but the Hops caught him and held Tri-City off the board. In the bottom of the 12th, sub DH Wallace Clark walked to put two on for 3B Yassel Soler. The slugging righty, who hit a walk-off shot for the first-ever home run at Hops Ballpark earlier in the year, sent a pitch from reliever Benny Thompson (3-5) deep and over the left-center wall for a walk-off three-run homer that ended the crazy contest. Hillsboro righty Augie Mojica (1-0) pitched the 11th and the scoreless 12th for the win.
DUST DEVILS NOTES
-Tri-City scored six runs in extra innings Wednesday, their second-highest total in at least the High-A (since 2021) and automatic runner (since 2018) eras. The high mark stands at seven in an August 30, 2023, win over Eugene at PK Park in which the squad scored a single run in the 11th and six in the 12th.
-Dust Devils starter Dylan Jordan got through four innings, giving up only a run on a hit and striking out six but walking five. Relievers Zach Redner (2 IP, 3 Ks) and Kyle Roche (1 IP) combined to throw three perfect innings out of the bullpen behind him.
-Tri-City remained six games back in the Second Half playoff chase with a Spokane win over Vancouver last night. Only ten games remain, though, and the Dust Devils now must climb past every non-Eugene team in the standings to get there.
WHAT WILL WE SEE TONIGHT?
Tri-City and Hillsboro take on game three of their six-game series at 6:35 p.m. Thursday night at Hops Ballpark. Right-hander Yeferson Vargas (3-10, 6.47 ERA), who has pitched well against the Hops this year (1-2, 2.05 ERA in 22 IP), gets the nod for the Dust Devils. Righty Dean Livingston (3-4, 4.21 in 13 starts for Single-A Visalia) will make his High-A debut for Hillsboro.
Free broadcast coverage on the MiLB app and dustdevilsbaseball.com begins with the Dust Devils Pregame Show at 6:15 p.m. Fans can also watch the game for free on Bally Sports Live (Hillsboro broadcast), and via subscription on MLB.tv and the MiLB app.
Tri-City will return to host the Vancouver Canadians for the final home series of the 2026 regular season September 1-6. For tickets to the Vancouver series, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.