WILSON, N.C. - The Wilson Warbirds walked off the Columbia Fireflies 5-4 in 11 innings after falling behind four different times on Wednesday night at Wilson Ballpark.
Columbia (55-53, 21-21 second half) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a nifty double steal.
Wilson (57-50, 21-20 second half) tied the game at one in the bottom of the second inning when Rylan Mills launched a solo home run off the scoreboard in left field.
The Fireflies scored another small-ball run in the top of the third, taking a 2-1 lead on an Enderson Mercado balk.
A Carsten Sabathia RBI single knotted the teams at two in the bottom of the fourth inning. The two teams traded runs with Wilson evening the contest again at three in the bottom of the eighth inning, as rookie Kyle Jones singled in Frederi Montero.
After the Fireflies scored in the top of the tenth, Kyle Jones hit a two-out single to plate Jose Anderson and tie the game once more.
After Cesar Espinal (W, 1-0) posted a zero in the top of the eleventh inning, Juan Ortuño drove in Brady Ebel to win the game 5-4. It was the Warbirds' 12th walk-off win of the year, leading all of professional baseball.
Randy Ramnarace (L, 0-5) was the losing pitcher for Columbia.
Wilson can clinch a split in the series tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. RHP Jarrette Bonet (6-4, 5.06) toes the rubber for the Warbirds against RHP Ryan McDonagh (5-3, 4.25). Tickets for tomorrow’s game are available at WilsonWarbirds.com or by calling (919) 269-2287.