LYNCHBURG, Va. (Interstat) — Yolfran Castillo drove in four runs and Aidan Deakins delivered five strong innings as the Hickory Crawdads defeated the Hill City Howlers 8-4 on Wednesday evening at Bank of the James Stadium.

Deakins earned the win, allowing one run on five hits over five innings. Hickory broke a tie with two runs in the fifth, highlighted by Castillo’s two-run double. Esteban Mejia added a two-run homer in the sixth, and Castillo’s two-run single capped a four-run eighth.

Hill City’s Anthony Martinez hit a solo home run. The Howlers out-hit Hickory 11-10 but committed two costly errors in center field. Attendance was 2,511. The game took 2 hours, 42 minutes. Hickory improved to 13-4, while Hill City fell to 10-7.