Howlers Complete Seven-Run Comeback, Walk-Off Crawdads
In unprecedented fashion, the Hill City Howlers walked off the Hickory Crawdads on Sunday afternoon, winning 9-8 in 11 innings. Only the first run of the game for the Howlers was attributed to a hit. The rest of the runs scored in the comeback victory came from walks, hit-batters, wild
In unprecedented fashion, the Hill City Howlers walked off the Hickory Crawdads on Sunday afternoon, winning 9-8 in 11 innings.
Only the first run of the game for the Howlers was attributed to a hit. The rest of the runs scored in the comeback victory came from walks, hit-batters, wild pitches, and a sacrifice fly. Hill City trailed by as many as seven runs before completing their improbable comeback.
The Hickory Crawdads scored in each of the first three innings, putting a run on the board in each frame. A flurry of walks and stolen bases assisted in their early advantage.
The Howlers scored in the bottom of the first inning as Juneiker Caceres drove home Robert Arias with an RBI single.
In the fifth inning, the Crawdads would strike twice as Marcos Torres drove home a run with a triple. Later in the frame, he would score on a Luis Marquez ground out, pushing the lead to 5-1.
Hickory struck again in the sixth as Yolfran Castillo doubled, scoring Paulino Santana. In the seventh, Marquez added on with a two-run homer, pushing the lead to 8-1.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Howlers loaded up the bases with only one out. A Robert Arias walk brought home Jhorvic Abreus. A walk two Caceres resulted in two more runs scoring as a wild pitch brought home Luis from third and Yaikel Mijares from second, trimming the deficit to 8-4.
The Howlers would threaten again in the ninth inning, loading the bases with no one out. Anthony Martinez walked to bring in the first run of the frame. The Howlers would score three more runs in the frame to tie it, all without collecting a hit.
A walk, hit-by-pitch, and ground-ball double play by Jhorvic Abreus plated the tying run to send the game to extras tied at eight.
Neither team could score in the tenth, pushing the game further into extra innings. The Crawdads went quietly in the 11th, setting up the Howlers for their second walk-off win of the series.
The ghost runner, Robert Arias, would move to third on a balk from Wily Villar. Juneiker Caceres lofted a deep fly ball to left field, driving home the winning run to complete the 7-run comeback, and completing the series split.
The Howlers hit the road to take on the Delmarva Shorebirds before returning home the following week to face the Fredericksburg Nationals. Tickets for that series can be purchased at hchowlers.com.