Hunter Stovall stays hot with Homer, Triple; Spokane Indians top Tri-City 7-5

Hunter Stovall can’t stop hitting.

The 24-year-old infielder won 2 for 4 with two RBIs and the Spokane Indians defeated the Tri-City Dust Devils 7-5 in the second of a six-game High-A West series at Avista Stadium.

Spokane (58-46) went 1 1/2 games behind first-placed Eugene (59-45) and one game behind second-placed Everett (58-45).

Stovall’s RBI triple in the first inning extended his hitting streak to 20 games, the fifth-longest in Indian history and the longest since Royce Bollinger’s 23-game streak in 2012.

His eighth homer, his sixth of the season, made for an important insurance run.

The Indians jumped over the entire Tri-City starter Sam Bachman – the first-round pick of the Los Angeles Angels in this summer’s draft.

Isaac Collins led the bottom of the first with a single, finished third with a single by Ezequiel Tovar, and scored with Stovall’s triple.

Nico Decolati met Stovall in singles, finished second in a walk and scored a throw error with a double steal. Aaron Schunk followed with an RBI single to make it 4-0.

Collins made the 5-0 with a solo homer in the second, his sixth of the season, and Tovar added a solo shot in the fifth.

Braxton Martinez hit a solo homer in the fourth and Adrian Rondon added a two-run shot for Tri-City in the fifth (42-62).

Indian starter Mitch Kilkenny went 6 2/3 innings, allowing five runs, three earned, on nine hits and no walks with four strikeouts.