LYNCHBURG, VA - The Wilson Warbirds could not complete another comeback, falling to the Hill City Howlers 8-7 on Sunday afternoon at City Stadium.
Wilson (55-50, 19-20 second half) struck first in the first with two runs to take an early 2-0 lead. Rylan Mills drove one in with a walk, and Jose Anderson hit a sacrifice fly to plate another.
Hill City (46-62, 15-27 second half) answered right back with three of its own in the bottom of the first. Riley Nelson singled in two to tie the game, and Jose Pirela doubled in another to give the Howlers a 3-2 lead.
Wilson played small ball to tie the game in the top of the second, as Kevin Garcia knocked in a run on a groundout.
In the bottom of the third inning, Nelson plated another run on a single to hand Hill City a 4-3 advantage.
The flood gates opened in the bottom of the seventh inning with the Howlers scoring four more runs on three walks and a Yeiferth Castillo single to extend the lead to 8-3.
The Warbirds fought back with four in the top of the eighth, as Brady Ebel extended his on-base streak to 28 to bring Wilson within one, trailing 8-7.
Wilson could not tie or take the lead in the ninth, and fell 8-7.
Erigaldi Perez (W, 2-3) was the winning pitcher for Hill City, and Harrison Ruiz (S, 1) held on for the save.
Tyler Renz (L, 2-6) took the loss.
The Warbirds return home for their penultimate homestand next week against the Columbia Fireflies. Tickets for the series are available at WilsonWarbirds.com or by calling (919) 269-2287.