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There are hardly any days off in the span of a 140 game full or 76 game short baseball season. Teams are either on the field or on the road, and there isn’t much in between. It’s safe to say every baseball player looks forward to their league’s All-Star Game because they can either get the opportunity to play in it, or they can take the “break” part of “All-Star Break” literally and actually get a few days off. It’s a win/win.
Last week, four Hawks players were selected for the Northwest League All-Star Game, and three of them got the opportunity to play. Jacob Bosiokovic and Garrett Hampson started. Bosiokovic went 2-for-5 for the night with an RBI. He also participated in the home run derby and smashed eight homers. Hampson hit 1-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base. Pitcher Julian Fernandez, the other Hawk who got in the game, shut down the two hitters he faced for the night.
Excitement from the opportunity wasn’t enough to carry over to the games following the break, however. In the Hawks series against the Tri-City Dust Devils, they struggled a bit offensively and were only able to get rallies going based on defensive errors made by the Dust Devils. Coming up short in three of four games, the Hawks pulled through with a win by keeping the bullpen sharp and shutting down batters when needed. Pitcher Christian Talley made his first start for the Hawks and put in four innings of solid work without letting a run score. Previously mentioned all-star Fernandez assisted in sealing the shutout in the last inning and ended the game with a strikeout.
The Hawks will finish their five game series against the Dust Devils tonight and will begin an eight game homestand. They’ll play the Hillsboro Hops and meet the Dust Devils for another five games. They’ve seen these teams before and now what they bring; now they have just got to bring a little more.