Holly Springs, N.C. – The Holly Springs Salamanders fended off a late-game comeback by the Greenville Yard Gnomes to secure an 11-9 victory Wednesday afternoon.

The Salamanders (5-4) struck first in the bottom of the opening frame when Hudson Ellis stole home to give Holly Springs a 1-0 lead. They broke the game open in the second inning, plating five runs. Lucas Manning and Anthony Mitta each scored on bases-loaded walks, followed by an Ellis RBI single that brought in TJ Sunderhaus. Trenton Lyons added a sacrifice fly to score Jake Stanley, and Ellis later crossed the plate on an Anthony Hauser groundout to make it 6-0.

Holly Springs tacked on another run in the third when Stanley’s sac fly scored Sunderhaus, pushing the lead to 7-0.

The Yard Gnomes (2-7) got on the board in the fourth with a solo home run to left field by Joe Whitaker. Lyons answered right back for the Salamanders in the bottom of the inning, launching a two-run homer to right to stretch the lead to 9-1.

Greenville mounted a comeback in the seventh, scoring six runs in the frame. Alex Ferrell delivered a bases-clearing triple to ignite the rally, followed by an RBI single from Kiebler that plated Ferrell. Kiebler later scored on a balk, and Brody Gardner came home on a wild pitch to cap the rally.

Stanley responded for Holly Springs in the bottom of the inning with a two-run single, bringing home Manning and Mitta to give the Salamanders an 11-7 advantage.

The Gnomes kept battling in the ninth. Kiebler scored on a hit-by-pitch to David Lillis, and Jon Howard followed with an RBI single that plated Jesse Ponce to cut the deficit to 11-9. However, the Salamanders were able to close it out as Will Applegate flew out to center field to end the game.

Alec Bouchard earned the win, tossing six innings while allowing just one run on three hits. Felix Ong was tagged with the loss after allowing six runs on two hits over 1.2 innings of work.

Up Next: The Yard Gnomes return home to Guy Smith Stadium to host the Martinsville Mustangs. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.