Coming into this week’s Northwest League playoffs, the Hillsboro Hops were considered the heavy favorites to win the championship. They took the title home last season and, after winning both the first and second halves of this season, it seemed all but certain that they would do the same this year. The question wasn’t whether or not they would make it to the championship series again, but whether or not the best-of-three series against the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes would be over in two games.
Surprisingly, the Hops fell flat on their faces against the Volcanoes in Game 1. Salem-Keizer beat the Hops 4-2 in spite of the Hillsboro boys recording more hits than their opponents, including three from Luis Veras. They were stymied in the final five innings thanks to the combined efforts of Volcanoes pitchers Michael Connolly, Caleb Smith and Ryan Halstead. Right off the bat, the Hops unceremoniously found themselves in a hole.
Game 2 yielded a far more preferable outcome, as the Hops won 8-0. Carlos Hernandez, who ranked among the league leaders in ERA and strikeouts through the regular season, punched out 12 Volcanoes in a masterful outing that couldn’t have come at a better time. Moreover, the offense came alive in spectacular fashion: Zach Nehrir, Grant Heyman, Trevor Mitsui and Nate Robinson all had 2 or more hits, including a 2-run homer courtesy of Robinson.
Although the Hillsboro lineup only produced two more hits than the night before, the team scored six more runs. As the embattled adversaries found themselves tied at one game apiece, the tension the following night was palpable. It was clear that the final win would be hard-fought regardless of who came out on top.
Accordingly, Game 3 provided us with a tilt for the ages. The Hops found themselves down 3-0 early after the Volcanoes scored a run in each of the first three innings. In the fifth inning, Sergio Alcantara finally got his team on the board with an RBI single, himself scoring later on a similar hit by Dansby Swanson.
Things got somewhat funky in the sixth inning, as Mitsui scored on a Gerard Hernandez GIDP and Veras came home on a wild pitch by Volcanoes hurler Cory Taylor. The score remained in Hillsboro’s favor until the top of the ninth inning, when Salem-Keizer’s Ronnie Jebavy and Chris Shaw both hit solo shots to give them a 5-4 lead. Swanson scored on a Mitsui single in the bottom half of the frame to even the score up once more.
Neither side cobbled together enough hits for another run for three more innings. Finally, in the bottom of the 13th with the bases loaded and no outs, Swanson hit a looping fly ball to center that brought Robinson in for the game- and series-winning run. The Hops advanced to their second straight championship series with aplomb, possibly on sheer stamina alone.
There’s one remaining obstacle between the Hops and eternal glory, however: They’ll face the Tri-City Devils in another best-of-three series that will wrap up this weekend. The winner of that series will be crowned this year’s NWL champion, and it’s sure to be another intense, thrilling matchup.
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