July 29--Wipe the slate clean. The Boise Hawks are starting over.

The Northwest League is playing under a new format that splits the season in half, and the second half of the 2010 season began Wednesday night at Memorial Stadium.

Unfortunately for the Hawks fans in attendance, the second half began the same way the first half ended: with a loss.

The Hawks tried to make it interesting in the bottom of the ninth inning when they had the tying run at second base with one out against the Vancouver Canadians. But the next two Boise batters -- productive sluggers Richard Jones and Ryan Cuneo -- each struck out swinging to end the game.

The result was a 5-3 Vancouver victory.

Late into the first half of the season, Boise battled with Spokane, but came up short after dropping their final five games.

"We found a way to win some games we probably shouldn't have won," manager Jody Davis said. "But then we hit one of those weeks where nothing went right for us."

Boise finished at 19-19, three games behind Spokane, but still good for the third-best record in the league.

With the first half in the books, here's a quick look at some of the highlights.

Top hitter: Outfielder Alvaro Ramirez earns this honor for his 20-game hitting streak. He entered the second half of the season with a .351 batting average, tops in the Northwest League.

"He runs well, and if the ball's on the ground he has a chance to beat it every time," second baseman Pierre LePage said. "And he's also got some pop."

Jones also made a strong case with his bat. He led the league with 29 RBIs and was second with a .536 slugging percentage.

"He's driving in runners and coming up with big hits in big situations," LePage said. "We rely on him. He's our guy in the middle of the order who's been coming through for us."

Top pitcher: Juan Serrano gets the nod by virtue of his 4-0 record. He wasn't at his best early in the season, but he has lowered his ERA to 3.72. Another contender is Austin Kirk (3-3), who leads the Hawks in strikeouts with 34.

"Both of those guys work very hard at what they do," pitching coach Jeff Fassero.

Closer Corey Martin might have been in the discussion, but he was called up to Peoria after locking down seven saves with Boise.

Top fielder: Any fan who has watched Kyung-Min Na protect Memorial Stadium's center field knows that Na deserve this designation.

"That's why he's here," Davis said. "We told him e 'Just go catch everything,' and he's done that since Day One. He's got great speed and runs good routes to the ball. When it comes down, he's got it."

Unsung hero: LePage joined the team 10 games into the season and seemed to give the Hawks' clubhouse an instant boost.

"He provides energy to a team," Jones said.

Favorite memories: "We've had two walk-off wins and that kind of paints the picture of our team," Jones said. "We've come from behind a lot."

Chris Langrill: 377-6424

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