Hops jump all over Frogs with late outbreak
Published 10:00 am Friday, July 31, 2026
The Everett AquaSox took a 3-2 lead over the Hillsboro Hops through five innings on Thursday night. But the home team scored 11 unanswered runs in three frames to pull away, as the Hops (44-55, 12-21 second half) won 13-3.
The result dropped Everett to 52-47, tying it with Eugene at 19-14 in the Northwest League baseball second-half standings. The AquaSox won the first two games of the series, each by one run.
Everett third baseman Luis Suisbel went 3-for-4 and scored a run on a 6-for-32 day for the Sox. Second baseman Axel Sanchez (1-for-3, run, 2 RBI) hit his fifth homer of the season, a go-ahead two-run shot in the fifth, for the Frogs.
Hops starter Rio Britton (6.0 IP) struck out 10 while allowing five hits and three earned runs to pick up the win, while relievers Tayler Montiel, Sawyer Hawks and Luke Craig combined to allow one hit with six Ks over the final three frames.
Everett starter Taylor Dollard took the loss, dropping to 3-8 on the season. He allowed five hits and three earned runs with five Ks. Reliever Ben Hernandez allowed six runs and eight hits in the eighth as the Hops poured on to a four-run lead late.
The AquaSox looked to win another tight one over Hillsboro early, as Dollard and Everett’s defense allowed a run apiece in the first and second innings. Kenny Castillo singled to score Slade Caldwell, and a Caldwell sacrifice bunt scored Avery Owusu-Asiedu in the respective frames. Carlos Jimenez scored from second for Everett in the second inning, stealing third before rounding out to home on a throwing error.
Both squads only saw three opposing hitters try their luck in the third and fourth, as Britton picked up four of his 10 Ks between the two frames.
Everett pulled ahead in the fifth, as Sanchez connected for a one-out blast well past the left field wall on a 1-1 count to score Suisbel and put the Frogs on top 3-2.
The AquaSox turned their second double play of the game to close the fifth, but went on to fly out and strike out twice in the sixth as Britton finished his night on a high.
Hillsboro went back ahead in the sixth, as Kayson Cunningham singled and reached third after stealing a base. A wild pitch from Dollard allowed Cunningham to tie it at 3-3 before a Jake Josepha single ended Dollard’s night.
Calvin Schapira came on for Everett with a runner at first. Josepha stole second, then reached third on a throwing error from catcher Matthew Ellis.
A Wallace Clark single brought Josepha home before Clark scored on a Diosfran Cabeza RBI single to left field to put the Hillsboro lead at 5-3.
Suisbel hit a two-out triple in the seventh, but it went to waste as Sanchez marked Everett’s third strikeout of the frame a hitter later. Hillsboro added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh on an error from Schapira to score JD Dix. Castillo then brought home Aiden Taurek on a sacrifice fly to make it 7-3.
Hawks came on for Hillsboro in the eighth and struck out the side swinging in just 11 pitches. The Hops turned it into a blowout in the bottom of the frame with Hernandez on the mound, as Cabeza scored Owusu-Asiedu on a single before Cunningham tripled to score two runs off Schapira.
Still on one out, Yassel Soler singled to score Cunningham before a two-out triple from Clark scored Soler and Castillo, bringing the game to 13-3.
The AquaSox will look to bounce back in the fourth game on Friday night, with first pitch at 6:35 p.m.
