The Hawks are halfway through their season and hold a 16-22 record. They sit in fourth place in the Northwest League South Division, just one game behind Salem-Keizer, who is third and a whopping 12 games behind first place Eugene. Heading into the 2016 season was a bit of a guessing game with the Hawks. With only handful of returning players, changes in the coaching staff, and a bit of rough record in previous years, it was difficult to predict what their season would be like.
In the NWL South, Eugene took a significant lead over Hillsboro, Salem-Keizer and Boise; however, those three remaining teams held a close record, which shows it can be anybody’s game for the second half. As far as the North Division goes, it ended with a neck-in-neck finish with Spokane ending the first half as the victors.
Boise has struggled with pitching this season, but there is a lot of young, raw talent in the bullpen. Improvement will come with experience. As far as the lineup goes, they have shown time and time again that there are some clutch players who could go on to do big things in their pro careers. Jacob Bosiokovic is leading the team with a .344 average, 12 doubles and 20 runs batted in. Close behind him with a little over half the number of games played is Willie Abreu, who’s sitting at 17 RBI and 3 home runs and can be considered the Hawks’ on-field leader.
Last but not least is Garrett Hampson. His speed is perhaps his best offensive tool, one that has been on display often with 40 hits, five triples, and 15 stolen bases.
In order for the Hawks to at least tie last year’s record, they need to win 14 more games — or merely a third of their total remaining contests — in the second half. The Hawks are hoping for a fresh start as they take on the Hillsboro Hops tonight on the road at 8:05 pm MT.