Tristin English did a little bit of everything and did it well.  He hit doubles, triples, took a walk, scored runs and even drove teammates home.  English was part of a solid nine man force to be reckoned with that helped the Hillsboro Hops defeat the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 7-2.

First Inning Omen

If there was any doubt before the game about the potential outcome, it was mostly erased in the first inning.  The Hops batted around the order sending all nine players to the plate. And did they have fun. Ricky Martinez and David Garza led off with back-to-back doubles.  That accounted for one run and the rest hadn’t even started yet.

Then the third round draft choice from this year stepped to the plate with two runners on board.  Tristan English did what everyone else was doing. English hit the third double of the inning scoring David Garza and Andy Yerzy,  Wait. There’s more.

Daniel Wasinger came two batters later and used his RBI single to bring English home for the fifth score of the inning.  By the time the Volcanoes came back to the plate, they faced a 5-0 deficit

Pitching Shift

From that point on, scoring became a nudge from both directions.  Both teams scored one run in the next inning. The Hops scored another in the fifth.  The Volcanoes followed that with one of their own in the sixth. After that, the supply of runs ran out for both teams.  There was no more scoring for the rest of the night.

In the later innings, pitching took over.  After starting pitcher Jesus Ozoria (L, 4-3) left in the second, Clay Helvey, Deiyerbert Bolivar and Jordan Scott combined to allow only one more hit and one more run for the last 6.1 innings.  But, by then, the Hops had done enough damage to coast the rest of the way.

Especially behind their pitching.  The Hops used five pitchers to control the destiny of the game.  Hillsboro led off with Tommy Henry (CBB round, 2019 draft) and Ryne Nelson (round 2, 2019 draft), two new arrivals on limited pitch counts.  With Jacob Stevens coming in to help as the steady veteran, the three limited the Volcanoes to one of their runs on two of their hits.

Wilfry Cruz – Winning Pitcher

Then, Wilfry Cruz took (W, 3-2) over.  For four innings, Cruz allowed their only other run to go with their other two hits for the win.  All they needed after that was Nick Snyder to come in and pitch the last two scoreless and hitless innings.

As to offense for the night, Tristin English did lead the way with his barrage at the plate.  But, there were several others worth mentioning. One would be David Garza, hero of last night’s game, who played a pretty good supporting role going 2 for 4 with a first inning RBI double to start the scoring. You would also have to include Rickey Martinez who doubled before him and scored the first run of the game.  There were several others worth mentioning.

Standings

The win increased the lead that the first place Hillsboro Hops (8-3) have over the rest of the Southern Division to two games.  The loss dropped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (6-5) into a three way tie for second in the same division. Both teams will meet again for the second game of the three game series Saturday night on Ron Tonkin Field at 7:05 PM.

Stay with the Minor League Sports Report for game recaps throughout the season.  Follow me on Twitter for half inning updates on all home games.

Box Score

By

Greg Stoker

@GDStoker