WILSON, N.C. - The Wilson Warbirds came from behind to win for the 33rd time this season, beating the Columbia Fireflies 9-6 in Sunday’s series finale at Wilson Ballpark.
Wilson (60-51, 24-21 second half) started out on the right foot as Juan Ortuño belted a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning to give the Warbirds an early 2-0 lead.
Columbia (56-56, 22-24 second half) was patient in the top of the second inning, drawing five walks and scoring four runs to open up a 4-2 lead.
The Fireflies added another on a Wilson error in the top of the third to take a 5-2 cushion. The advantage was extended to 6-2 in the sixth by Henry Ramos, who hit a solo homer.
Carsten Sabathia responded with his first professional dinger to cut the lead to 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning.
An inning later, Kyle Jones matched his fellow rookie, belting his first professional blast to plate Frederi Montero as well and slice the Columbia advantage to 6-5. Wilson tied the game at six on a sacrifice fly from Juan Ortuño.
After escaping a jam in the top of the eighth, the Warbirds caused their own trouble in the bottom half. With the bases loaded and one down, Justin LeGuernic (L, 0-1) balked in the go-ahead run for Pedro Ibarguen. Kyle Jones delivered the exclamation point with a two-run single to put Wilson ahead 9-6.
Joshua Quezada (W, 5-2) worked a one-two-three ninth to secure the win as the Warbirds took five out of six games from Columbia.
The Warbirds play in Salem next week, starting at 6:35 p.m. on Tuesday. Wilson returns home against Hickory the following week. Tickets for the Hickory series are available at WilsonWarbirds.com or by calling (919) 269-2287.