Birds emerge victorious in homer-filled battle with Lynchburg

LYNCHBURG, Va. (May 19, 2019) - The Myrtle Beach Pelicans blew two separate leads on Sunday against the Lynchburg Hillcats, but still pulled out a 5-4 win in 10 innings from City Stadium. 

With the Pelicans (16-28) and Hillcats (21-20) tied at 3-3 in the seventh, Wladimir Galindo broke the tie with a solo homer to center, his first of the season. 
In the ninth inning, with Myrtle Beach's Ben Hecht (1-1) on for the save, Luke Wakamatsu tied the game with a solo home run of his own.
The Pelicans then took the lead in the top of the tenth when Cam Balego scored on a throwing error by the right fielder, giving the Birds a 5-4 advantage against Robert Broom (1-1) 
Though Lynchburg loaded the bases in the bottom of the 10th, Hecht induced a 4-6-3 double play to get out of the jam and earn the win. 
To start off the game, Cam Balego ripped a two-run single for the Pelicans, scoring Zach Davis and Carlos Sepulveda , to begin the scoring and make it 2-0. 
Kevonte Mitchell then blasted a solo shot, his team-best seventh home run on the season, to put the Birds out in front 3-0. 
A Jose Vicente homer for Lynchburg cut the lead to 3-1 in the second before a third-inning RBI single from Gabriel Mejia made it 3-2 Pelicans.
In the fifth, Trenton Brooks hit a game-tying solo homer to knot the game at 3-3. 
The Pelicans' 11-game road trip continues with a four-game series in Frederick against the Keys with game one on Monday at 7:00. The Pelicans will send RHP Paul Richan (4-2, 3.22) to the hill while RHP Brenan Hanifee (2-3, 5.70) for the Keys. Coverage starts at 6:45 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast and the MiLB First Pitch and TuneIn Apps.
The 2019 season is the 21st season for the Pelicans franchise and fifth as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For tickets visit MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/tickets, call (843) 918-6000, or visit the Pelicans Box Office.
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. Since being acquired by a group led by Chuck Greenberg during the 2006 season, the Pelicans have repeatedly set team attendance records and become known as one of Minor League Baseball's most innovative and creative franchises. The team and its employees have been dedicated to making a difference in the Myrtle Beach community, specifically giving back over $2 million in donations, fundraising proceeds, in-kind services and community service since launching the Pelicans Play It Forward Community Initiative in 2013. TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark has ranked in the top eight in all of Minor League Baseball by Stadium Journey in six of the last seven seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences and the best in the Carolina League for six of the past seven seasons. In June 2017, the Pelicans won the 2017 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. On the field, the team has won four Mills Cup Championships, including claims to back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000, and again in 2015 and 2016. The Pelicans have made 11 postseason appearances behind 13 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season, second half of 2016 and first half of 2017. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or email [email protected].