Spokane Indians complete ninth inning rally with walk-off balk, beat first-place Hillsboro 9-8

The Spokane Indians had a chance this week to put themselves into position to grab the Northwest League first-half playoff spot. For much of the day it looked like they would end the week further out than they started.

But a ninth-inning rally fueled by walks and wild pitches ended on the least likely of all outcomes – a walk-off balk. And as a result, the Indians remained in the thick of league’s first-half title chase.

Pinch-runner Tevin Tucker jogged home with the winning run after Hillsboro reliever Edgar Isea balked before throwing his first pitch and the Spokane Indians beat to the Hillsboro Hops 9-8 in the finale of a six-game series at Avista Stadium on Sunday.

The Indians (29-28) trail first-place Hillsboro (30-27) by one game with nine remaining in the first half.

The 2-3-4-5 hitters for the Indians went 11 for 20 with a walk, seven runs and six RBIs.

The Indians trailed by two entering the bottom of the ninth against Hops hard-throwing reliever Sam Knowlton. He hit Braylen Wimmer leading off the inning, then got two quick strikeouts. A wild pitch moved Wimmer up a base, then Jesus Bugarin bounced a two-strike slider through the middle for an RBI single.

Pinch-runner Caleb Hobson advanced on a wild pitch, then Jean Perez hit a soft grounder through the right side to put runners at the corners. Cole Messina singled to right to plate Hobson, then Jared Thomas walked after a nine-pitch at-bat to load the bases.

Hillsboro manager Mark Reed came out with the hook for Knowlton and brought in Isea to face Charlie Condon. But as the 22-year-old reliever was preparing to throw his first pitch, both umpires signaled that he committed a balk, and Tucker crossed the plate with the winning run.

The Indians took the early lead in the first inning. Condon (3 for 4, three runs) ripped a double into the left-centerfield gap and scored on a single by Aidan Longwell (3 for 4, RBI). Braylen Wimmer (3 for 4, two runs) doubled, then Longwell scored on a groundout for an early 2-0 lead.

Eaton got into hot water in the third – some of his doing, and some not. Kevin Sim and Anderdson Rojas hit back-to-back one-out singles, then Cristofer Torin grounded into a potential inning-ending double play. But third baseman Skyler Messinger threw wide of second base and into right field and a run scored.

The next batter, Ryan Waldschmidt, launched a home run halfway up the netting above the tall wall in left center for a three-run homer, his eighth of the season.

The No. 31 overall pick in 2024 of the Arizona Diamondbacks went 9 for 25 in the series with three homers and eight RBIs.

Condon led the bottom half off with a single and Longwell doubled. Wimmer lined a single to right to drive in Condon, but later got caught in a rundown on a grounder by Andy Perez and the Indians settled for just one run in the frame.

The Indians took the lead in the fifth against reliever Nate Savino. Longwell walked with one down, went to third on a double by Wimmer and scored on Andy Perez’s single. Skyler Messinger lined out to right deep enough to bring in Wimmer with the go-ahead run.

It stayed that way until the seventh, Francis Rivera took over on the mound for Spokane but provided no relief. Torin led off with a double and Rivera hit Waldschmidt. After a groundout. Jackson Feltner crushed a 1-2 pitch off the truck advertisement above the wall in straight left for a three-run shot, his sixth homer of the season to put Hillsboro up 7-5.

Rivera gave up another double, this time to Druw Jones, and manager Robinson Cancel came out with the hook. He brought in Alan Perdomo, but the righty was greeted by a line drive RBI single by Gavin Logan to make it 8-5.

The Indians put two on with no outs in the bottom half on consecutive hits by Condon and Longwell, but Wimmer bounced into a 6-4-3 double play. Andy Perez walked, then Messinger got a grounder through the right side for a run-scoring single.

Cole Messina and Thomas drew one-out walks in the eighth inning, and after a pitching change Condon walked to load the bases for Longwell. But he rolled over on a fastball and hit into a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play.