Late Surge Not Enough For C's In 11-6 Loss

HILLSBORO, OR – The Canadians fell behind early and – despite a late offensive outburst – never recovered in an 11-6 loss to the Hillsboro Hops [AZ] Wednesday night at Hillsboro Ballpark.

The C’s trailed from the third batter to the final out. Hillsboro got to starter Chris McElvain (L, 0-2) for two runs on three hits in the first then three runs on five hits in the second to race out to a 5-0 advantage. Meanwhile, the Canadians offence had no answer for Hops righty David Hagaman, who issued a walk in an otherwise perfect four innings in which he scattered seven strikeouts.

After the Hops added an unearned run in the fourth, the C’s broke through in the top of the fifth. Cutter Coffey – activated from the Injured List before the game – singled for the first Vancouver hit before Sean Keys doubled. An RBI groundout from Alexis Hernandez spoiled the shutout then a wild pitch brought in another run to make it 6-2 Hillsboro. The Canadians would load the bases with two outs and brought the tying run to the plate but failed to score again in the inning.

The C’s made it interesting in the seventh. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases for Eddie Micheletti Jr., who laced a 3-0 pitch into left field to score a run and cut the deficit to three. Up stepped Arjun Nimmala, who singled up the middle to plate a pair and make it 6-5 Hops. But the next two hitters made outs to strand the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position.

That would be the closest they’d get. Hillsboro got all three runs back and more in the bottom of the seventh, scored another in the eighth and tempered a ninth inning rally that saw Nimmala double home a late run to cut the deficit to five, but the C’s fell 11-6.

The series continues tomorrow night. MLB Pipeline’s #26 Blue Jays prospect Silvano Hechavarria gets the ball for the C’s opposite Denny Larrondo. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. on Sportsnet 650.