Hopper Hurlers Shut Down Full Count

7-16-genier

July has been good to the Hoptown Hoppers, who picked up a 3-2 win over the Full Count Rhythm Saturday at Tiger Stadium.

The Hoppers are 10-2 in July – their best 12-game stretch in three seasons.

Luke Genier (3-0) pitched into the eighth inning and allowed just two runs as the Hopper pitching staff has produced a 4.01 ERA in July.  The righty only needed 94 pitches to strike out seven and walk just one. He scattered five Full Count hits.

The Hoppers got another strong outing from the bullpen. Cody Hupp and Aaron Moss each pitched an inning of scoreless relief with Moss notching his fifth save.

The Hopper bullpen has allowed just one earned run over its last 12 innings and has allowed two earned runs or less in 10 of the last 12 games.

Hoptown scored two runs in the first inning with just one hit.  Ren Tachioka walked and Joshua Rodriguez singled the left. Luis Vergara was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ron Brown drew a walk and Jacob Dupps grounded into a double play to score another run.

Sean Sullivan led off the second inning with his third home run of the season – an opposite-field shot to right field.  It was his first round-tripper since June 23.

Genier was in control on the mound, retiring eight straight Full Count batters at one point. He scuffled a bit in the sixth inning as a hit batter and double put a pair of batters on base. Tyler Boyd grounded out to score a run, and Drew Lowery followed with an RBI single.

Hopper catcher Will Spear ended the threat by picking off Lowery at first base for the final out of the inning.

Rodriguez, Vergara, and Sullivan each had two hits for the Hoppers. Cooper Holbrook had a pair of singles for Full Count.

The Hoppers have three regular-season games left. They play at Paducah Sunday and at Franklin Monday before closing with a Tuesday home game against Paducah.

If the Hoppers win one of the three, they will open play in the postseason Friday and would avoid a Thursday play-in game.

HOPPER STOPPERS

  • With four games left in the regular season, the Hoppers have the inside track at the No. 2 seed from the South Division in the OVL playoffs.  The Hoppers are one game ahead of Franklin and two games ahead of Fulton. The No. 2 seed also gets home field advantage in the best of three first round that begins Wednesday.
  • Two Hoppers are approaching the single-season Hopper record for hits. Joshua Rodriguez has 49 hits, and Ren Tachioka has 48. The single-season record is 61 set by Andrew Gross in 2016. Ernie de la Trinidad, who played for the Minnesota Twins Double-A affiliate last year, had 60 hits in 2015.
  • The Hoppers have won 10 of 12 games, their best streak since winning 11 of 13 games in the 2019 season. The Hoppers went on to claim the OVL title with a 15-6 record in July.
  • After losing five of their first six meetings with Full Count, the Hoppers have won four of their last six. Full Count still leads the all-time series 7-5.
  • The Hoppers passed 6,000 fans for the season Saturday night. Hoptown is averaging 334 fans in 18 home games this year, ranking third in the OVL behind Dubois County (871) and Paducah (399).
  • Earlier this season, the Hoppers passed the 80,000 fan mark for home games since the start of the 2012 season.

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