HILLSBORO – A four-run 7th inning gave some life to the Tri-City Dust Devils (25-33 2H, 60-64) Friday night but the Hillsboro Hops picked up a pair of insurance runs late on the way to a 9-4 win at Hops Ballpark, their fourth straight to begin the week.
The visitors trailed 7-0 going to the top of the frame, which 3B Harold Coll began with a bunt single. A popout and a fielder’s choice left LF Jonny McGill on first with two outs. C Peter Burns walked to bring up 2B Capri Ortiz, who lined an RBI ground rule double down the right field line and over the wall to score McGill and get Tri-City on the board at 7-1. CF Hayden Alvarez walked and extended the inning to DH Kevyn Castillo, who sent a two-run single to right that scored both Burns and Ortiz to make it 7-3. SS Kendrey Maduro kept it going with an RBI single to center that plated Alvarez, cutting the Hillsboro lead to 7-4 at the stretch. The Dust Devils received another leadoff hit from Coll in the 8th, but a double play cut off any further rally.
Tri-City starter Peyton Olejnik (5-8), who had had great success against the Hops in 2026, could only last 2.2 innings in the contest. Hillsboro scored four runs (3 ER) off the righty, forcing him to throw 71 pitches in getting his eight outs on the night.
In the end, righty Hops hurler Junior Ciprian (2-1) proved unsolvable for a second straight outing against the Dust Devils. He went 6.1 innings, giving up only one run (that scored after his time on the mound) on three hits with five strikeouts in beating Tri-City for a second time. Lefty Luke Craig picked up the final six outs for the save, with Hillsboro scoring twice in the bottom of the 8th.
DUST DEVILS NOTES
-Lefty reliever Luke Cooper threw two scoreless innings of relief for the Dust Devils. Cooper has thrown four innings in total for the week, giving up only a solo homer and three hits in total and striking out ten Hops along the way.
-Both Harold Coll (2-for-4) and Kendrey Maduro (2-for-4, RBI) had multi-hit games for Tri-City, part of a total of seven hits on the night.
-The Vancouver Canadians blew a nine-run lead but managed to stave off Spokane 15-14 in ten innings Friday afternoon at Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium, winning the game on an Indians balk. An errant pickoff throw gave the Everett AquaSox a 4-3 win in ten innings over the Eugene Emeralds at Everett Memorial Stadium.
EARLY EVENING BALL
Tri-City and Hillsboro play game five of their six-game series at 5:03 p.m. Saturday evening at Hops Ballpark, with the game time a nod to the Portland metropolitan area code. Right-hander Mason McGwire (0-2, 5.06 ERA in NWL action) takes the hill for the Dust Devils, with lefty Rio Britton (7-4, 4.47 ERA) doing the same for the Hops.
Free broadcast coverage on the MiLB app and dustdevilsbaseball.com begins late Saturday afternoon with the Dust Devils Pregame Show at 4:40 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.