Hickory, NC- The Crawdads used a three-run first inning to claim a 7-4 win over the Hill City Howlers at LP Frans Stadium on Wednesday night.
Moises Morales took the ball for Hickory and set the tone for the 'Dads in a big way.
Morales, on just 60 pitches, put together a hitless outing against the Howlers, tossing 4.2 innings while striking out nine Hill City batters.
The offense rewarded Morales with an early scoring ambush off Howlers' starting pitcher Joey Oakey.
Two batters in, Marco Argudin blooped a double to left field, scoring Yolfran Castillo, who opened the game with a walk.
Paulino Santana followed up Argudin's knock with a single through the middle to up the lead to 2-0.
Marcis Torres closed the scoring in the first with a bunt base hit that scored Santana to stretch the lead to 3-0.
In the fifth, Angel Arredondo doubled home Castillo to build a four-run advantage ahead of Marcos Torres' two-run homer to left that gave Hickory (5-0, 39-30) a lead they would not surrender.
Torres collected three hits on the night that included the homer, two runs batted in and a pair of stolen bases.
With Hill City (0-5, 31-40) mounting a rally in the seventh, Michael Trausch (5-2) closed the door on the Howlers to earn his fifth win of the season. The win for Trausch puts him in a three-way tie with Morales and Aidan Deakins for the club lead.
Oakey (0-6) suffered the setback for Hill City despite eight punchouts over 4.2 innings of work.
Louis Marinaro claimed his sixth save of 2026, striking out the final two batters he faced in the ninth that sealed the Crawdads fifth straight win.
The series continues on Thursday night as Jesus Lafalaise opposes Ryan Prager in the 7pm first pitch.