The Salem RidgeYaks found revenge with an 8-3 win over the Hill City Howlers on Wednesday evening.
After the 16-2 blowout win for Hill City on Tuesday, Salem turned the tables with a dominant pitching performance. Only one of the Howlers three runs was earned, which came off of starter Barrett Morgan.
For the second straight night, the Howlers struck in the first inning as Riley Nelson drove home a run with a sacrifice fly to center field.
The lead lasted no more than a few minutes as Stanley Tucker reached on a fielding error by the Howlers, scoring Anderson Fermin to tie the game.
Almost immediately, Hill City struck for a second run as a throwing error from Starlyn Nunez allowed Yaikel Mijares to reach and Tyler Howard to score from second.
In the fourth, the RidgeYaks continued the back-and-forth evening as Andrews Opata opened the frame with a solo shot, knotting the game at two. Ilon Fernandez broke the tie with an RBI double later in the frame to jolt the ‘Yaks in front. Enddy Azocar and Nunez followed suit with RBI doubles of their own, pushing the lead to three.
The fifth inning provided Salem with extra cushion as Stanley Tucker picked up a two-run single. D’Angelo Ortiz followed with a sacrifice fly to put them up 8-2.
In the bottom of the frame, Hill City recovered a run as Cannon Peebles reached on an error, scoring Dauri Fernandez, trimming the deficit to five.
The final four innings would pass by scoreless for both teams as the bullpens eliminated any threat. For the Howlers, they totaled three hits in the contest.
Hill City and Salem square off on Thursday evening at City Stadium with first pitch at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at hchowlers.com.