Howlers Pitching Strikes Out 22; Lose 4-2

The Hill City Howlers pitching staff struck out 22 in a losing effort against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers on Thursday evening by a score of 4-2.

Howlers starter Joey Oakie picked up the first eight strikeouts, Ettore Guilianelli earned one, Ryan Prager followed with six of his own before the final seven were recorded by Miguel Flores. Four defensive errors allowed the Woodpeckers to come from behind and win the ballgame.

For the second time this week, the Howlers had a severe injury befall the team in the first inning. Robert Arias was injured on a slide to second and had to exit the game.

Hill City responded strong as Anthony Martinez doubled home Jose Pirela to open the scoring. Luis De La Cruz followed suit with an RBI single of his own, pushing the lead to 2-0.

That score would hold until the top of the fourth when an RBI single from Anthony Huezo cut the Fayetteville deficit in half.

The Howlers held that mark until the top of the seventh inning when the wheels fell off defensively. An error on Jhorvic Abreus allowed a run to score and tie the game. A three-base pickoff error by Miguel Flores resulted in two runs scoring as Hill City appealed for a dead ball, but the umpires ruled the ball was not trapped underneath the padding on the wall.

Hill City struggled to find any offensive momentum in the later innings, as the score remained in one of the more mind-bending losses of the season.

The Howlers and Woodpeckers will be back in action at City Stadium on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at hchowlers.com.