HICKORY, N.C. (Interstat) — The Hickory Crawdads, owners of the league’s best record, look to secure a series win against the Hill City Howlers on Thursday at Bank of the James Stadium.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EDT under cloudy skies with a game-time temperature of 71 degrees.

The Crawdads (13-4) evened the four-game series at a win apiece with an 8-5 victory Wednesday night. Hickory’s Aidan Deakins earned the win with five strong innings, allowing one earned run. Yolfran Castillo led the offense, going 3 for 5 with four RBIs.

Hill City (10-7) saw a strong relief outing from Nelson Keljo in the loss, as he struck out five over 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Anthony Martinez homered for the Howlers.

Thursday’s pitching matchup features two right-handers seeking their first win of the season. Hickory will start Kamdyn Perry (0-0), while Hill City counters with Joey Oakie (0-1).

Deakins, Wednesday’s winning pitcher, is a player to watch for Hickory. Over his last three appearances, he has a 0.82 ERA across 13 innings, allowing just one earned run while striking out 11.

For Hill City, Keljo has been a reliable arm out of the bullpen. In his last three outings, spanning 11 1/3 innings, he has a 1.59 ERA and 18 strikeouts.

The series has been tightly contested. On Tuesday, the Howlers edged the Crawdads 7-6 before Hickory’s bounce-back win Wednesday.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, Thursday’s contest projects to be another close one, with a predicted final score of Hickory 7, Hill City 6.

Following Thursday’s game, the two teams will meet again Friday, Saturday and Sunday to conclude the series. Hickory then travels to face the Fredricksburg Nationals for a six-game set, while Hill City heads to face the Delmarva Shorebirds for six games.