HICKORY, N.C. (Interstat) — The Hill City Howlers scored four runs in the third inning and added three in the sixth to beat the Hickory Crawdads 9-4 on Sunday afternoon at L.P. Frans Stadium, avoiding a series sweep after five straight losses to Hickory. The Howlers collected 13 hits while holding the Crawdads to eight. Miguel Flores (5-6) earned the victory, allowing three runs on six hits over six innings. Zane Petty recorded his second save. Hickory took a 3-0 lead in the second on Braylin Morel’s two-run homer and Curley Martha’s RBI single, but Hill City answered in the third when Dauri Fernandez tripled and Gabriel Rodriguez homered. Luis De La Cruz homered in the sixth, and Yeiferth Castillo drove in a run in the seventh. Morel finished with three hits and three RBIs for Hickory. Frank Martinez (0-2) took the loss. Attendance was 863. The game lasted 2 hours, 15 minutes. Hill City improved to 32-43; Hickory fell to 42-31.