RidgeYaks Win Third Straight In 6-3 Win Over Warbirds

SALEM Va. – Led by Andrews Opata’s 2-for-3 night and Ty Hodge’s game-tying single, the Salem RidgeYaks (3-1) picked up their third consecutive victory in a 6-3 win over the Wilson Warbirds (2-2) on Wednesday evening at Carilion Clinic Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

The Yaks have won the first two games in the six-game set, with Salem having taken four of the first five games of the 2026 campaign.

The scoring got started early on. Wilson struck first with a two-spot in the top of the second, aided by RBI singles off the bats of both Jadyn Fielder and Yannic Walther to make it a 2-0 game.

It wasn’t long, though, before the RidgeYaks punched back. Ilan Fernandez’s RBI sacrifice fly made it a 2-1 contest, before Enddy Azocar reached on an error to extend the inning and tie the game up two hitters later.

Wilson would then respond with a run in the fourth, before Salem countered in the home half with Hodge’s RBI knock.

The contest remained tied until it moved to the bottom of the sixth, when Avinson Pinto’s RBI fielder’s choice gave the Yaks a 4-3 advantage, and Frederik Jimenez’s sacrifice fly gave Salem some insurance with a 5-3 lead.

The RidgeYaks would then tack on one more in the bottom of the eighth with a Hodge sacrifice fly, with right-hander Harry Blum able to slam the door in the ninth to pick up his first professional save.

Fellow righty Brandon Neely also tossed two scoreless innings in relief in his first professional game, with the former Florida Gator striking out five Warbird hitters in the six he faced.

The RidgeYaks and Warbirds will do it all again when they resume their six-game set tomorrow evening at 6:35 p.m. Left-hander Dylan Brown will earn his second start of his professional career.

Game Notes:

• Ty Hodge has now picked up both a hit and at least one RBI in his third straight game
• Right-hander Jacob Meyers, left-hander Myles Patton and righty Brandon Neely all made their professional debuts
• Andrews Opata put his first career hit – a triple
• Opata picked up two triples on the day, the only two three-baggers by the Salem team this year
• The RidgeYaks’ three-game winning streak is the team’s longest of the season
• Salem now leads the Carolina League with 36 runs scored through the first five games

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