Early Avalanche Sends Hops to 11-0 Loss, Tri-City Clinches Series

Pasco, WA (July 11, 2026) - Tri-City put the game away before the midway point Saturday night. The Dust Devils erupted for seven runs in the second inning and added four more in the third, rolling to an 11-0 victory over the Hillsboro Hops at Gesa Stadium. The win was Tri-City's fourth straight and secured the six-game series, while Hillsboro dropped its 11th game in the last 12 contests. The loss also marked the third time during that 12-game stretch that the Hops were held scoreless.

After a quiet opening inning, the Dust Devils took advantage of six walks, six hits and a Hillsboro error over the next two frames to build an insurmountable lead.

Wellington Aracena worked around a leadoff walk in the first and even caught Harold Coll attempting to steal second to end the inning, but trouble arrived in the second. Aracena had pitched 11 scoreless innings against the Dust Devils in 2026 entering the second inning where he was chased from the game. Tri-City loaded the bases before Randy De Jesus delivered an RBI single, Johan Macias followed with another run-scoring hit and Jorge Ruiz lined a two-run single to center. Harold Coll then capped the inning with a three-run homer to left-center, his fourth home run of the season and second in as many days, giving the Dust Devils a 7-0 advantage.

Tri-City wasn't finished.

The Dust Devils sent nine more batters to the plate in the third, scoring four additional runs. Aaron Graeber and Peter Burns opened the inning with consecutive singles before Macias drove in another run with an RBI single. Gage Harrelson drew a bases-loaded walk, Ruiz added a sacrifice fly and Matt Coutney ripped an RBI double. Harold Coll later reached on a throwing error that allowed another run to score as the lead ballooned to 11-0.

That was more than enough support for Peyton Olejnik. The right-hander was brilliant on Saturday as he struck out 10 over five scoreless innings, including seven in a row and allowed just three hits without issuing a walk to earn his fourth victory of the season. Francis Texido tossed two scoreless innings before Benny Thompson finished off the combined four-hit shutout.

Hillsboro's offense never mounted much of a threat. Trent Youngblood doubled to open the game and later added a sixth-inning single to finish 2-for-4, accounting for half of the Hops' four hits. Slade Caldwell and Wallace Clark each added singles, but Hillsboro went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and struck out 14 times.

After the rough start, the Hops' bullpen settled the game down. Sawyer Hawks allowed just one unearned run over 2.1 innings, Zane Russell retired all six batters he faced across two scoreless innings and Luke Dotson struck out two during a scoreless eighth. The three relivers retired 15 batters in a row before a one-out single in the ninth.

Tri-City finished 6-for-10 with runners in scoring position and received RBI from six different hitters. Coll drove in three runs with his home run, Ruiz also collected three RBI, while Macias, Coutney, Capri Ortiz and Harrelson each drove in a run.

The series concludes Sunday afternoon at Gesa Stadium, with Hillsboro looking to avoid a fifth consecutive loss and salvage the finale before returning home. First pitch is at 7:05 on Rip City Radio 620 AM.