The Hill City Howlers secured the series split with the Delmarva Shorebirds with a 10-6 win on Sunday afternoon.
The win also gave Hill City the season series win over the Shorebirds for the second straight season. Erigaldi Perez pitched well across 4.2 IP, allowing only one run, walking none.
A sloppy first inning by the Shorebirds opened the door for the Howlers to take an early lead. Riley Nelson drove home the game's first run with a single to center. A passed ball gave way for Jonathan Martinez to score later in the frame before a sacrifice fly from Jose Pirela gave Hill City the 3-0 lead.
A three-spot in the second gave the Howlers a comfortable advantage as Gabriel Rodriguez knocked in the first with an RBI single. An error allowed two more runners to score later in the inning as Reiner Herrera reached with two-outs.
Delmarva stopped the bleeding in the third as Steven Martinez brought home a run on a groundout, making it a 6-1 Hill City lead.
Pirela tacked on another for the Howlers as his single to right field in the fifth brought home Reiner Herrera. Jhorvic Abreus tagged Delmarva for a second with a single of his own, pushing the lead to seven.
The Shorebirds got one back as Andres Nolaya found a single in the sixth, making it an 8-2 ballgame.
Hill City tacked on two more for good measure in the bottom of the eighth inning. Herrera blasted one off the wall in right to score the first in the frame. A wild pitch allowed the second to come home, pushing the lead to eight.
It turned out that the Howlers needed the cushion, as the Shorebirds struck for four in the ninth. RBIs from Stiven Martinez, two for Elvin Garcia, and one for Luis Almeyda added a little stress to the Hill City victory, but fell short in the end.
The Howlers will head to Fayetteville for a six-game series with the Woodpeckers beginning on Tuesday. The team will return home to face the Wilson Warbirds on August 4. Tickets are available at hchowlers.com.