Hickory Crawdads
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Hickory, NC- The Hickory Crawdads used patience and pitching to rout the Hill City Howlers 13-1 on Thursday night at LP Frans Stadium.
The Crawdads offense managed just seven hits in the contest tonight but were able to augment their offensive production by drawing 14 walks against a beleaguered Hill City bullpen. The Crawdads went into the sixth inning tied at 1-1 before the Howlers bullpen ran into a stretch of incredible difficulty, walking 12 Crawdads in the final three innings.
@HCHowlers 1@HickoryCrawdads 13
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Crawdads use pitching and great hitting to rout Howlers! @GreenvilleSM pic.twitter.com/JWnMHHlDgE— GSM Sports (@GSM_Sports13) June 26, 2026
The Crawdads were able to push across nine runs in the eighth inning against Hill City, who ultimately brought on left fielder Yerlin Luis for mop-up duty.
In the eighth, Curley Martha added an exclamation point with his second homer of the series, a grand slam to left that put the ‘Dads ahead 11-1. Marcos Torres continued his torrid series, collecting two doubles while stealing four bases for Hickory. The two hits for Torres give him seven safeties at the midway point of the series.
Curley Martha slammed the door on a 13-1 win!
📰: https://t.co/O236z06eHr pic.twitter.com/JnFvxBq8jD
— Hickory Crawdads (@HickoryCrawdads) June 26, 2026
Not to be overlooked, the Crawdads pitching staff would shine tonight despite the wealth of riches provided by the offense. Jesus Lafalaise tossed five innings of one-run ball in a no-decision, striking out five batters on four hits.
Jake Jekeliek (1-1) earned the win for Hickory (6-0, 40-30), tossing two perfect innings on what could be his best outing in a Hickory uniform. Luimy Munoz (3) would finish off the Howlers with two perfect frames, claiming his second save of the week.
Crawdads’ pitchers ended the contest retiring 15 consecutive Hill City (0-6, 31-41) batters.
Looking to stay hot to start the second half! pic.twitter.com/VMDqjHnUOn
— Hickory Crawdads (@HickoryCrawdads) June 25, 2026
Javi Torres (0-1) was tagged with the loss for Hill City.
The Crawdads have clinched no worse than a series split as the action continues Friday night as Daniel Keaney will climb the hill for Hickory against Howlers’ starter Erigaldi Perez. First pitch time at the Frans is slated for 7pm.
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