COLUMBIA, S.C. (Interstat) — Aidan Deakins pitched 5 2/3 innings of seven-hit ball and earned his third win as the Hickory Crawdads defeated the Columbia Fireflies 7-2 on Thursday night at Spirit Communications Park before 2,768 fans in 2 hours, 24 minutes.

Hickory broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the third inning on run-scoring singles by Wady Mendez and Deward Tovar. The Crawdads added a run in the sixth when Paulino Santana singled, and Tovar scored on a throwing error by center fielder Sean Gamble. A four-run seventh included a run on another error by shortstop Josh Hammond.

Columbia had taken a 1-0 lead in the second and pulled within 5-2 in the sixth on Hyungchan Um’s RBI triple. Hickory outhit the Fireflies 9-12. Yolfran Castillo went 2 for 5 with a home run and an RBI for the Crawdads.

Deakins (3-0) struck out five and allowed two earned runs. Jose Gutierrez (1-2) took the loss despite five scoreless innings. Hickory improved to 18-16; Columbia fell to 17-19.