The Hillsboro Hops, after scoring eleven runs the night before, couldn’t get on the scoreboard against Frederis Parra and the Boise Hawks.  The Boise mound held the Hops to just four hits and only one extra base hit. The closest the Hops came to coming home was when Tristan English led off the seventh with a walk and made it all the way to third.

No Score Through Five

The Hawks Parra took 70 pitches six complete innings and left the game with the lead at 1-0.  After that, the pitchers duel between Parra and Hops starter Deyni Olivero continued with the bullpen.  During his time on the mound, Parra allowed all four hits to the home team while striking out five.

Just before Parra’s last inning on the mound, Deyni Olivero ran into one blip.  He walked Zach Hall who held the ninth spot in the line up. That little blip turned into a stolen base that ended up at third after Bladimir Restituyo’s deep fly out to right.  It was from there that Olivero let loose a wild pitch and Hall sauntered home for the first score of the game.

That one run would be enough to decide the game, though it still felt within reach.  If only the Hops could score a run. And, after the explosion of eleven runs the night before, everyone was optimistic that more was likely.  It wasn’t meant to be.

Bullpen Takes Over

Luke Chevalier relieved Parra on the mound in the seventh.  Before he could get through the inning, Chevalier loaded the bases with three walks.  But, he was saved by two strike-outs and a deep fly to right before anyone could cross the plate.

It was close enough that many felt scoring was a matter of time.  Then Jacob Wallace came to the mound and mowed down the top of the order for the Hops.  Now, there was only the ninth left. It was the Hops last chance to actually score a run.

Reagan Todd didn’t strike out the entire side but it didn’t matter.  A strike-out, another deep fly to right and a ground out to second retired the Hops with a combined blanking of the scoreboard.  The Hops lost 3-0.

Early Hope

The Hops bats did come to life early in the game.  The first inning saw back to back singles by Andy Yerzy and Kristian Robinson.  Only, a fielder’s choice resulted in the third out. Jesus Marriaga gave the Hops another base runner in the second with his single but was followed by a double play to erase him from the base paths and end the inning.  Finally, Tristian English smacked a ground rule double with two outs in the fourth. A ground out to second left him stranded.

I say finally because that was the last Hops hit of the night.  Except for the three walks in the seventh, Boise faced the minimum batters the rest of the way.  Just to make sure, Boise added two more runs on three hits in the ninth giving a three-run deficit to the ninth inning Hops.

Standings

The loss dropped the Hillsboro Hops (15-10) to two games behind the Southern Division leading Salem-Keizer Volcanoes.  The win gained a game for the Boise Hawks (13-12) and are now within two games of the second place Hops. The series is now even (1-1) with the rubber match being Tuesday afternoon.  The game will be played in the afternoon at 1 PM.

Eris Filpo (2-0) will take the mound for the Boise Hawks.  In his last game on Wednesday, Filpo went six innings and gave up two runs in his second win of the season.  The Hops have yet to determine their starter.

Keep in touch with the Minor League Sports Report for continual game recaps throughout the season.  Follow me on Twitter for half inning updates throughout the game.

Box Score

By

Greg Stoker

@GDStoker