WILSON, N.C. – For the second time in the series, the Wilson Warbirds delivered a walk-off home run to defeat the Hill City Howlers. This time, it was Jose Anderson who came through, blasting a two-run shot over the left field fence on Sunday to lift Wilson to a 5-3 victory.
Hill City (9-6) trailed by a run in the eighth inning but managed to tie the game when Yeiferth Castillo lined a ball into the left field corner, allowing Robert Arias to score from first and even things at 3-3.
Wilson (6-9) wasted no time in the bottom of the ninth. Brady Ebel drew a leadoff walk, setting the stage for Anderson, who launched a pitch from Keegan Zinn (L, 1-1) over the left field wall for the game-winning homer.
Ayendy Bravo (W, 1-0) kept the Warbirds within striking distance by pitching a scoreless top of the ninth inning, stranding two runners and setting up the walk-off opportunity.
Hill City initially grabbed a 2-0 lead in the third inning on Arias’ home run, but Wilson responded late. The Warbirds took a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning on RBI hits from Handelfry Encarnacion and Anderson.
Wilson now heads on the road to begin a six-game series at Delmarva on Tuesday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.