Howlers Blow Lead in Eighth, Fall to Hickory

A Hickory Crawdads grand slam in the eighth inning downed the Hill City Howlers, 6-3, on Thursday evening.

Jervis Alfaro had pitched three scoreless frames in relief before surrendering the game altering grand slam. For the first time this season, the Howlers failed to strike out double digit hitters in a game, finishing with five strikeouts.

The Howlers struck quickly off of Bishop Gorman alum Kamdyn Perry, striking for three in the first inning. After a leadoff double from Dauri Fernandez, Robert Arias brought him home with an RBI single.

Then, for the third straight game, Anthony Martinez hit a home run in his first at-bat. With Arias on, Martinez drilled a liner over the right field wall to put the Howlers up 3-0.

In the third inning, the Crawdads started threatening. After loading up the bases, Paulino Santana drew a walk to bring home Hickory’s first run.

The game would remain quiet until the eighth inning when the Crawdads changed the story. Yolfran Castillo drove home the first run of the frame with an RBI single. Then, with the bases loaded again, Deward Tovar delivered a grand slam to right field, giving Hickory the 6-3 lead.

The Crawdads faced the minimum from the second inning through the eighth inning. Then in the ninth, the Howlers would try to make a move with a Robert Arias home run, his third of the year. Hill City would bring the tying run to the plate later in the inning but could get no closer.

The Howlers and Crawdads square off again on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. at City Stadium. Tickets are available at hchowlers.com.