VANCOUVER 3 - 4 HILLSBORO
The record books — and that made-up but still momentous word “four-peat” — were on the minds of the Vancouver Canadians players and staff before the first pitch of the Northwest League Championship was thrown Saturday night at Nat Bailey Stadium.
The C’s had gone seven playoff games without losing at home, a streak that dates to 2011 when Vancouver won the first of their three championships by eliminating Eugene on the road in the division series and then beating the Tri-City Dust Devils at home for the Northwest League title.
As in the past, this year the C’s squeaked into the post-season with several must-win games and then swept Spokane to advance to the championship against Hillsboro.
In their second year in the Northwest League as the Diamondbacks’ affiliate, the Hops had the best overall record (48-28) and also won both the first and second halves of the short, single-A season’s South Division. Vancouver came second with a 46-31 overall record, finished the first half in second and won the second half of the North Division two games ahead of Eugene.
Hosting the Hillsboro Hops Saturday night, history was in the making (so it seemed) as the C’s leapt to a three-run lead in the first inning and then added two more runs in their next at-bat. But the Hops dug out of the hole in unforgettable fashion by hitting two home runs, both over the fence along near identical trajectories over right field. Hillsboro, which had the lowest ERA in the league (3.64) during the regular season, kept Vancouver from scoring again as they came back with four runs in the third inning, took the lead in the sixth with two runs and then added insurance in the seventh with their seventh run to go up 7-5 and win Game 1.
Read more: Canadians: Hillsboro escapes Vancouver with Game 1
In Game 2, the Hops got right to the point. At Ron Tonkin Field in front of 3,328 fans, they went up 4-0 in the first two innings and then held their breath as Vancouver scored three runs on 11 hits before the ninth inning when the league-leading closer, Hops’ Zac Curtis who had 14 saves in 15 attempts, finally shut the door on Vancouver.
