Dust Devils Fall in Championship Series 3 Games to 2.
The Tri-City Dust Devils fell 3-1 Wednesday night to the Hillsboro Hops, who claimed the 2019 Northwest A League title. But it was a great season for Tri-City.
After going 18-20 in the first half and watching Spokane win the first half title, the Dust Devils went 22-16 to grab the second half championship.
Then they beat the favored Indians in the Divisional round. Hillsboro finished the regular season with a sparkling 48-28 record, while Tri-City was 38-38. The team also (again!) broke their season attendance record, with over 85,000 fans watching at GESA Stadium. This was the 6th Divisional title in Dust Devils franchise history, dating back to 2001.
And a number of players continue their ascent to the major leagues, (the Padres). Since relocating their Class "A" short-season team to GESA Stadium five years ago, the Dust Devils have had at least 9 players make their major league debuts with the Padres. Perhaps the most notable has been Fernando Tatis Jr, who played here in 2016, then made his MLB debut this season. As of this month, he's hitting .317 with 22 home runs, 53 RBI and 16 stolen bases. He's been a fixture on ESPN and MLB Network highlight shows.
The Dust Devils have extended with PDC (Player Development Contract) with the Padres through the 2020 season (they're done in two year installments) and are said to be very happy with having their A team here.
Won't be THAT long before the crack of the bats are heard again at GESA Stadium.