Hillsboro Hops shut out Spokane Indians 6-0, Take Series 4-1
On Pirate’s night, The Hillsboro Hops shutout the Spokane Indians 6-0. The winning run came in the third inning when Luis Olmeda led off with a triple to the right center field gap going all the way to the fence. Olmeda slid head first into third base ahead of the tag. Nate Robertson followed with a home run that barely cleared the left field fence giving the Hops an early lead, 2-0.
Jeferson Mejia (2-2) was the starting pitcher for the Hops. Mejia went six innings of no-run, four-hit ball. He walked two and struck out four for the win.
Emerson Martinez (1-3) started for the Indians. Martinez lasted five innings giving up four runs on six hits for the loss. He allowed one walk and struck out three batters. Two of his hits given up were home runs.
The Hops added two more runs the very next inning. The fourth started with Josh Anderson leading off with a loop single to the left fielder Doug Votolato on one hop. After a pop up to short, Gerard Hernandez followed with a home run of his own. The homer stayed fair of the right field pole by about ten feet with the help of a strong wind towards left field.
The final two runs came in the eighth. Fernery Ozuna started with a ground ball single up the middle. Zach Nehrir bunted down the third base line and beat the throw to first base for a single. Ozuna moved to second. With Luis Veras at the plate, Ozuna advanced to third and Nehrir to second on a passed ball by catcher Sherman Lacrus. Veras slapped a sacrifice grounder to short stop Yayson Yrizarri to bring home Ozuna. Nehrir scooted over to third. Zach Hoffpauir hit a high chopper to third baseman Ti’Quan Forbes, but Hoffpauir beat the throw to first baseman Tyler Sanchez for an infield hit. Nehrir scored.
There were a couple of fine defensive plays during the game. In the top of the fourth, Indians Jamie Potts hit a hard line drive that almost made it through the right side hole. Hops first baseman Josh Anderson dove to his right and caught the ball three feet above the ground. In the bottom of the fifth, Hops Fernery Ozuna hit a line drive that looked like it was going to drop in for a hit and sneak all the way to the fence. But, Indians right fielder Jamie Potts dashed and then slid with his glove coming just under the ball to take any hit away.
Fernery Ozuna and Josh Anderson both went 2 for 4 and each scored a run for the Hops. Gerard Hernandez went 1 for 3 with two RBI and scored a run. Nate Robertson hit his third home run of the season and Gerard Hernandez hit his first.
For the Indians, Yason Yrizarri continued his fine series going 3 for 3. Sherman Lacrus went 3 for 4.
The Hillsboro Hops (15-11) remained tied for the lead of the South Division with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. The Eugene Emeralds fell to one game back. The Spokane Indians (13-13) fell to third place, four games behind the Everett Aquasox and one game behind the Tri-City Dust Devils in the North Division.
The Hops took the five-game series 4-1. They have Tuesday off and then host the Eugene Emeralds for a three-game stand. The Indians will take Tuesday off and then go home to host a three game series with the Tri-City Dust Devils.
By Greg Stoker
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