Ballers Drop Wild Extra Innings Showdown Thursday Night with Myrtle Beach 8-7

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – In what can only be described as the wildest game fans have seen at Atrium Health Ballpark, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers went from leading, to trailing, to tied, to ultimately losing 8-7 in a ten-inning battle with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Thursday night at Atrium Health Ballpark.

RHP Norge Vera made his third start as a Cannon Baller Thursday, tossing 2.2 clean innings, allowing one run on one hit, walking one and striking out one. RHP Hunter Dollander piggy-backed off of Vera, working 4.2 innings in an innings-eating situation. The righty struck out four in his Cannon Ballers debut, walking one, allowing four runs on six hits.

Myrtle Beach opened the scoring in Thursday’s wild matchup with a solo shot off the hot bat of Ezequiel Pagan, giving the Pelicans a 1-0 lead in the top of the second.

DJ Gladney ensured the lead did not hold for long, crushing a solo shot into left field to tie the game at 1-1. Two batters later, Samil Polanco tallied an RBI double to score Wilfred Veras, giving Kannapolis a 2-1 lead. Victor Torres continued the good times for the Ballers later in the inning with an RBI single to bring home Polanco, pushing the home team ahead 3-1.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Gladney’s great night continued with his second home run to left field of the night. The Oak Park, Illinois native now leads the team with 12 home runs and 40 RBI. Gladney’s second home run of the game gave Kannapolis a 4-1 lead.

Colson Montgomery used an infield single in the bottom of the fifth inning to bring two more runs across the plate, scoring Torres and Caberea Weaver, making the Ballers lead a 6-1 margin. With the single, Montgomery has now reached base in 32 consecutive games.

Myrtle Beach’s comeback mounted in the top of the seventh with a Josue Huma RBI single and a Kevin Made sacrifice fly, inching closer at 6-3. In the top of the eighth, Felix Stevens crushed a solo home run to left to make it a 6-5 game. Huma’s second and third RBI of the night gave the Pelicans a 7-6 lead in the eighth, coming on an RBI double that scored Ethan Hearn and Jacob Wetzel.

The bottom of the ninth brought heroics in the form of a wild pitch from Myrtle Beach RHP Johzan Oquendo (W, 1-0). With Wes Kath at the plate, Oquendo tossed a wild pitch to the backstop, giving just enough time for pinch-runner James Beard to advance and score from third base, tying the game at 7-7.

With the game going into extra innings, Myrtle Beach broke the tie with a ball put into play by Hearn. The throw from Kannapolis’ Sanchez went home, where Pagan avoided the tag from Torres, putting the Pelicans ahead 8-7, a lead that Kannapolis could not dig into in the tenth.

With the win, Myrtle Beach clinches the first playoff spot in the Carolina League, winning the first half division title for the Carolina League South Division.

The two sides will go at it again Friday night at Atrium Health Ballpark, with the Ballers in pursuit of snapping a six-game losing skid. RHP Noah Owen will get the start for the 7:00 p.m. first pitch, with Myrtle Beach sending RHP Tyler Schlaffer to the bump.

Fans can purchase tickets for any upcoming home games at kcballers.com or at the F&M Bank Box Office located at Atrium Health Ballpark.