Gavin Conticello provides muscle, Spokane Indians fall to Hillsboro 11-2

Slumps happen over the course of a long baseball season. The Spokane Indians are in one.

Gavin Conticello homered and tripled, and the Hillsboro Hops beat the Spokane Indians for the second night in a row, rolling 11-2 at Avista Stadium on Wednesday.

Conticello finished 2 for 4 with two runs and three RBIs. Juan Guerrero went 3 for 4 with three doubles and an RBI for Spokane.

The first-place Indians (27-22) have lost three in a row but remain one game ahead of Eugene (27-24) with 15 games left in the Northwest League first half. Third-place Hillsboro, which is 7-1 against Spokane this season, is two games out at 26-25.

The normally solid starter Mason Green had a rough outing for Spokane. He allowed five runs on seven hits and three walks in just four-plus innings. He threw 80 pitches, 45 for strikes, and struck out three.

Hillsboro jumped on top in the third inning. Jean Walters walked, stole second and scored on a sacrifice fly. With two down, Christian Cerda and Jack Hurley hit back-to-back RBI doubles for a 3-0 lead.

Jake Snider led off the home half of the fourth with a double to the wall in center. With two down, Guerrero lined one off the base of the short wall in the right-field corner and Snider scored without a throw.

But the Hops went right back to it in the fifth. Andrew Pinter’s RBI double ended Green’s outing, and reliever Sergio Sanchez gave up a two-home run off the scoreboard to Conticello – the first batter of his appearance – for a 6-1 deficit. It was Conticello’s fifth homer of the season.

Hillsboro picked up a run in the sixth when first baseman Bryant Betancourt made a throwing error trying to nab a runner at third after a groundout. Conticello led off the seventh with a triple and scored on a fielder’s choice.

The Hops added three in the ninth off Braden Carmichael, who gave up three doubles in the inning.