The Hill City Howlers won their second straight game, taking down the Fayetteville Woodpeckers 5-4 on Tuesday evening.
Fayetteville was kept off the board until the eighth inning when Kevin Alvarez carried the load, scoring four in the final two innings. However, the Howlers found the win behind a strong pitching performances from Nelson Keljo, Javi Torres, and Evan Chrest.
The Howlers opened up their home stand strong as they loaded up the bases in the first inning. Jose Pirela delivered with a two-run double to left field, giving Hill City the early advantage.
A wild pitch in the third inning allowed Jonathan Martinez to score from third. Martinez reached base with a walk, stole second, moved to third on a balk before scoring curtesy of the wild pitch.
In the fourth inning, Martinez did damage with his bat as he found the gap between first and second, for a two-run single. Ending the fourth, the Howlers held the 5-0 lead.
Nelson Keljo showed up with his best start of June, working 4.2 scoreless innings, tying his season high of seven strikeouts for the sixth time.
Fayetteville broke up the shutout in the eighth inning as Xavier Neyens walked before scoring on a double from Kevin Alvarez, making it a 5-1 ballgame.
In the final frame, Fayetteville started a two-out rally, loading up the bases for Alvarez. For the second straight inning, he delivered a double, this time clearing the bases to cut the deficit to one.
Hill City turned back to their bullpen as Evan Chrest picked up his first Hill City save, striking out the one batter he faced.
The Howlers and Fayetteville square off again on Wednesday with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at City Stadium. Tickets are available at hchowlers.com.