Late Salem rally brooms Birds in twin bill
SALEM, Va. (June 28, 2016) - After winning game one of Tuesday's doubleheader 5-3, the Salem Red Sox rallied for three in the seventh of game two to walk-off 7-6 on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and sweep the twin bill at LewisGale Field.
Ahead 6-4 in the seventh inning of game two, Myrtle Beach (38-38, 2-4) left starter Zach Hedges (6-6) in the game to try for the club's first complete game of the season. The right-hander issued a one-out walk before an error put the tying run on base. Wendell Rijo then chopped an RBI single to left to cut the lead to one and put runners on second and third when he moved up on the throw. An error with the infield in plated the tying run before Rafael Devers laced a single to left for Salem (47-27, 4-1) to walk-off with the 7-6 win and twin bill sweep.
The brooming was the sixth consecutive doubleheader the Birds have played that has resulted in a sweep, a club record dating back through 2005.
Five of Myrtle Beach's six runs in game two came with two outs. Yasiel Balaguert broke a scoreless second with a two-out homer. Daniel Spingola then doubled before coming in on Erick Castillo's RBI single to make it 2-0.
In the bottom of the frame, Salem answered with an RBI groundout to slice the lead in half.
With the score 2-1 in the third, Charcer Burks walked and Rashad Crawford singled with one out. Gleyber Torres knocked in Burks with an RBI single, and two batters later, Jason Vosler lined a sacrifice fly to center to increase the advantage to 4-1.
However, the Red Sox again responded immediately. With a runner on first and one out in the last of the third, a Rijo double coupled with an error plated a run. The next hitter was Mike Meyers, who lifted a sacrifice to again cut the Myrtle Beach lead to one.
A two-out error put Spingola aboard in the sixth. Back-to-back singles by Castillo and Andrew Ely against Salem reliever Yankory Pimentel (6-3) made it 5-3 Birds.
However, in the bottom of the sixth, Devers doubled with one out. Two batters later, he scored on Betts' RBI single to make it 5-4.
The Pelicans tacked on what they thought was an important insurance run in the seventh. Ian Rice walked with two outs and came right around to score on Vosler's RBI double. However, it wasn't enough to stave off the Salem rally in the bottom of the frame.
In game one, another big Salem inning haunted the Pelicans. With the Birds leading 3-2, Bryan Hudson doubled to begin the fifth against Myrtle Beach starter Trevor Clifton (4-4). After a walk, Danny Mars doubled in Hudson to tie the game. Two batters later, two runs came in on Nick Longhi's RBI single to put the Red Sox in front 5-3.
Myrtle Beach struck first in the twin bill opener. Burks doubled to begin the game and moved to third on Crawford's sacrifice bunt. A Torres groundout brought him in to put Myrtle Beach ahead 1-0.
However, the Red Sox scored a run on an RBI double by Deiner Lopez to tie the game in the second before Joseph Monge's solo shot in the third vaulted Salem to a 2-1 advantage.
The Pelicans rallied from there to take the lead. The fourth started with doubles from Balaguert and David Bote, with the latter tying the game. Jeffrey Baez's single against Salem reliever Mario Alcantara (7-0) scored Bote to give Myrtle Beach the short-lived 3-2 advantage.
The 2016 season is the 18th season for the Pelicans franchise and second as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For information on tickets to see the Pelicans in 2016, please call (843) 918-6000, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.
ABOUT THE PELICANS: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and play their home games at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The park has ranked in the top eight in all of Minor League Baseball by Stadium Journey in each of the last five seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences in all of sports in each of the last five years and the best in the Carolina League for five straight seasons as well. In May 2015, TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark won the 2015 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. The Pelicans are the defending Mills Cup Champions, winning the title in 2015 as well as 2000 and co-Mills Cup championship honors in the inaugural 1999 season. The Pelicans have made nine postseason appearances behind 11 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season, as well as five Southern Division titles, most recently in 2015. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or emailing [email protected].