RidgeYaks Take Late Lead and Hold On for 4-3 Victory over Hill City

SALEM, Va. – For the second consecutive night, the Salem RidgeYaks (54-73, 29-33) rallied in the eighth inning, scoring twice to take the lead and hold on for a 4-3 victory over the Hill City Howlers (54-73, 23-38) Wednesday night at Carilion Clinic Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

The victory marked Salem’s second straight win via comeback fashion in the series.

Salem grabbed an early lead in the bottom of the first inning when Kleyver Salazar lined an RBI single into center field, bringing home Wills Maginnis to make it 1-0.

Hill City answered in the third inning, tying the game on an RBI single from Alejandro Garza that scored Jhorvic Abreus.

The Howlers took their first lead in the sixth when Lucas Moore came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Deiten Lachance, putting Hill City ahead 2-1.

The RidgeYaks responded in the bottom half of the inning. Maginnis was hit by a pitch and later scored when Colton Coates delivered an RBI single to tie the game at 2-2.

Hill City regained the advantage in the eighth when Erick Dessens drew a bases-loaded walk, scoring Lachance and putting the Howlers ahead 3-2.

Once again, Salem had an answer.

The RidgeYaks loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth, and Franklin Primera delivered a game-tying RBI single to right field, scoring Andrews Opata to make it 3-3. D’Angelo Ortiz advanced to third while Maginnis moved to second on the play.

With the bases still loaded, Salazar worked a walk to force home Ortiz and give Salem its first lead since the opening inning.

The RidgeYaks’ pitching staff then shut the door in the ninth. Yander Bonaci retired the Howlers in order to preserve the 4-3 victory and secure Salem’s second consecutive win.

Salem finished the night with six hits. Salazar drove in two runs, while Primera and Coates each added an RBI. Maginnis scored twice, while Opata and Ortiz each crossed the plate once.

Christian Foutch started on the mound for Salem and allowed one run on three hits over five innings while striking out four. Alex Kranzler followed with 1.2 scoreless innings before Bonaci (1-1) recorded the final four outs to earn the victory.

Salem has won the first two games of the series, with both victories coming by one run.

The Yaks will look to secure a share of the series Thursday night as the Salem BeerMongers take the field for the final time in 2026. Right-hander Cole Tolbert gets the baseball as Salem looks to make it three straight victories.

Game Notes

• Salem has scored five of its 12 total runs this week in the eighth inning alone
• The Yaks improve to 13-26 in one-run games and have played seven of their last nine games by a margin of one or two runs
• Salem is 2-7 over its last nine games since last week, with all nine contests being decided by a combined 19 runs
• Christian Foutch tied his career high by pitching five innings and qualified for a win for just the second time in his professional career
• Yander Bonaci earned his first career Single-A win and his first victory in the United States
• Bonaci’s last professional win came on July 21, 2025, with the Dominican Summer League academy
• Starlyn Nunez went 1-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to five games and his on-base streak to 11 games dating back to August 18
• Franklin Primera reached base for the 15th consecutive game dating back to August 1
• D’Angelo Ortiz’s eighth-inning single extended his on-base streak to 10 games dating back to August 12
• Salem has now scored 701 runs this season, the fourth-most in a single season in the modern era. The Yaks need 20 more runs over their final four games to break the modern-era franchise record for most runs scored in a single season
• The Yaks improve to 31-28 at home and are guaranteed to finish at least .500 at Carilion Clinic Field this season
• With one more win this week, Salem will become the first Salem team since 2022 to finish the year above .500 at home
• Andrews Opata played in his 100th game of the season, becoming the first Yaks player to reach the milestone this season and just the 22nd player in the Carolina League to play in 100 or more games
• Salem extends its lead in the Battle for 460 season series, 5-3

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