Ryan Prager and Evan Chrest combined to lead the Hill City Howlers to a shutout of the Wilson Warbirds, 2-0, on Friday night.
For Hill City, it was their first shutout win since June 13 against the Warbirds. The last nine-inning shutout happened on April 29 on the road versus Delmarva.
The Warbirds only mustered four baserunners in the contest.
The Howlers opened the second inning with four-straight singles, helping vault them to a 2-0 lead. An RBI single from Pedro Dalmagro followed by a groundout from Yerlin Luis gave Hill City the advantage.
From there, it was an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel. Ryan Prager outmatched Joey Broughton for the Warbirds. Prager set career highs in strikeouts and innings pitched, going 6.2 IP while striking out nine.
Evan Chrest came on in relief to record the final out of the seventh inning before earning the untraditional seven-out save. Chrest struck out the side in the ninth, finishing it off by setting down Brailyn Antunez to secure the Howlers shutout win.
Hill City and Wilson square off again on Saturday night at City Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at hchowlers.com.