CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Wilson Warbirds put the tying run on base in the ninth inning but could not bring the run in, falling 6-4 against Charleston Friday night at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
Charleston (53-41, 15-12 second half) struck first, taking an early 1-0 lead on a Cooper Flemming single in the first.
Wilson (48-44, 12-13 second half) responded in the top of the third as Kevin Garcia drilled a solo home run to left field.
Garcia handed Wilson a 2-1 lead an inning later, grounding into a fielder’s choice to score Juan Martinez.
Charleston rattled off four unanswered runs from there to grab a 6-2 lead. The dagger came with Dean Moss homering in the bottom of the seventh inning to push the lead to four.
Wilson fought back valiantly, plating two in the ninth and sending the go-ahead run to the plate, but could not find enough offense to tie the game
Jacob Morrison (L, 0-2) was on the losing end for the Warbirds while Alex Wallace (W, 2-6) took the win after an excellent start. Jayden Voelker (S, 3) recorded the final two outs for the save.
The two teams meet once again tomorrow at 6:05 p.m. Wilson will send RHP Joey Broughton (0-1, 3.60) to the mound to face RHP Aidan Haugh (8-4, 5.86). The Warbirds return home next week to take on the Fredericksburg Nationals. Tickets for that series are available at WilsonWarbirds.com.