Stadium: AutoZone Park (Capacity: 13,406)
June 17: Archers 2, Hops 1
June 18: Hops 4, Archers 3
June 19: Archers 5, Hops 3
Flagstaff, AZ (AP) - The Hops struggles continued as they dropped two of three to the St. George Archers to open their homestand.
The Hops dropped the opener to the Archers 2-1 to run their losing streak to five games. The team wasted another great outing from starter Alex Farmer as they continue to slide out of the playoff picture.
At George would take a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on a Chris Taylor sacrifice fly that scored Mikey Fisher. They would extend that lead to 2-0 in the sixth on a two-out RBI double from Jamaal McCormick.
Flagstaff would get on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the sixth on a solo home run from Roberto Geronimo, his 13th on the season. But they could not find their way to another run in this one.
Casey Pack (6-1) picked up the victory, tossing six innings and allowing one run on four hits Sam Goodman worked a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up his 17th save. Alex Farmer (10-3) took the loss, throwing seven innings and allowing two run son four hits, while striking out four and walking just one. He leads the league with a 1.78 ERA.
The Hops are now 12 games below .500 for the first time in franchise history.
On Tuesday evening, the Hops broke a five game losing streak as they rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Archers. Newcomer David Petrovski went 3 for 4 with a triple and scored two runs to help the anemic Hops offense.
St George would take a 2-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to a Jamaal McCormick two-run home run, his 21st on the year. But Flagstaff would answer right back as Art Mason lined a two-out, two-run double to tie it at 2-2.
Mason would give the Hops the lead in the fourth as he hit a solo home run to left, his 11th on the season, to make it 3-2.
St George would tie it up in the sixth on a Fred Roberts solo home run off of starter Juro Yamaguchi that ended his night. Yamaguchi pitched 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. He struck out four, but also walked four and did not figure in the decision.
In the bottom half of the sixth, Art Mason came through again, singling home newcomer David Petrovski, who had tripled. Mason drove in all four runs in the game for Flagstaff.
The Hops bullpen then held up with Kenneth Valdez, Oliver Benedict and Vic Miller shutting down the potent Archers lineup. Miller struck out the side in the ninth to pick up his 15th save. Valdez (2-1) earned the win, pitching 1.1 innings in relief of Yamaguchi and only allowing one hit.
On Wednesday afternoon, Taylor Austin struck out 15 and the Archers won 5-3 to take the series. Austin (5-8) dominated, allowing one run on six hits in eight plus innings, striking out a career high, while only walking two.
The Archers would grab the lead in the third on a two-out, three-run home run from Jamaal McCormack. The home run was his 22nd on the year and gave the visitors a 3-0 lead. They would extend that lead to 5-0 in the sixth on solo home runs from Chris Taylor (24) and Sammy Gomez (12).
Flagstaff would be held scoreless until the ninth when shortstop Ryan Kelly blasted a three-run home run off of Francisco Francisco. Sam Goodman came on to get the final out and pick up his 18th save.
Russell Fluty (2-7) took the loss, but aside from the three home runs allowed, was pretty good. He allowed the five runs on seven hits and struck out five, while walking only one. Sam Varela and Samuel Espinoza got the final 11 outs, striking out five and not allowing a run.
Flagstaff batters struck out a season high 17 times in the game including three each from Roberto Geronimo and David Petrovski. Every batter in the Hops lineup struck out at least once.
The Hops (32-44) will close out the home stand with a four game series against Amarillo (26-49). The Honey Hunters have the worst record in the IBL.
Around the League: Santa Fe's Ron Sposato (7-4) tossed eight strong innings, allowing one run and striking out six as the Jays cooled off red-hot Albuquerque 5-2. Dezi Azerod went 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs to key the offense in the Santa Fe victory.
Scottsdale got a game tying solo home run from Martin Perez in the bottom of the ninth and then a game winning walk-off RBI double from him in the 11th as the Scorpions rallied to defeat Mesa 2-1.
Chandler's Ervin Cordero homered twice, including a walk-off solo home run in the tenth, as the Chiefs defeated Gilbert 6-5 in extra innings. Gilbert had tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the ninth on a Josh Heupel two-run shot off of Chandler closer Jim Miller. For Miller, it was his third blown save on the season.
San Diego's Oscar Heurta (5-4) tossed a complete game seven hit shutout, striking out eight, as the Seals defeated Amarillo 4-0 to run their winning streak to four.
Henderson's Dwayne Parks (2-6) threw 8.1 innings of shutout baseball, allowing two hits and striking out seven in a 4-0 victory for the Silver Knights over Fort Worth.

David Petrovski had a successful debut for Flagstaff, recording three hits including a triple, in a win.
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