Birds Grab Ninth Straight Win over GreenJackets

The win ties their longest winning streak since 2018

By Sam Weiderhaft

Off the power of 12 hits and a solid start from Porter Hodge on the mound, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans won their ninth consecutive game with an 8-5 victory over the Augusta GreenJackets on Tuesday night. The series-opening win moved the Birds up to 29-11 on the season with a two-game lead over Charleston in the Carolina League South standings. Augusta dropped to 21-19 with the loss.

Every batter reached base safely in the lineup for the Pelicans as Reginald Preciado (3-4, 2 RBI, R, BB) posted three singles with a couple of RBIs. James Triantos (3-4, 2B, 3 R, BB) collected a pair of singles and a double in his three-hit performance. Miguel Fabrizio (1-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB) lifted his first home run of the season and led the team with three runs batted in.

Hodge (3-0) earned his third win of the year by lasting five innings with a season-high seven strikeouts on the evening. The righty gave up two runs with one earned off four hits and a walk. Luis Angel Rodriguez came out shy of finishing the game as he went 3 2/3 innings with three earned runs and no hits allowed while striking out five and walking three.

Augusta was held to just five hits for the game with Kadon Morton (1-4, 3B, 3 RBI) bringing in most of the runs with a bases-clearing triple in the ninth. Caleb Durbin (1-3, 2B, RBI, BB) hit the other extra-base hit and brought home a run in the loss.

Tuesday’s loss went to Jordano Perez (1-2) with four earned runs through his five innings of work. Perez walked three and struck out five in his outing. Miguel Pena gave up two earned runs off two hits in his 1 1/3 innings in relief.

The GreenJackets grabbed the lead first as one run came home in the opening frame. Cal Conly hit an infield single up the middle with one out and then stole second during the next at-bat. The throw by catcher Ethan Hearn skipped into center field as Conley advanced to third. Brandol Mezquita knocked him in with a looping single to right as the home team took a 1-0 lead.

Myrtle Beach took the lead and ran with a two-run second. BJ Murray Jr. was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Hearn walked with one out. Preciado followed with a line drive up the middle for a single as Murray scored and Hearn went to third. With runners on the corners, Fabrizio grounded out to first as Hearn scored for a 2-1 Pelicans lead.

The Pelicans added runs in the third and fifth innings to take control. Triantos led off with a double and Made singled following the first out to put runners on the corners. Perez threw a wild pitch to Murray as Triantos crossed the plate for the third run of the game for Myrtle Beach.

With two outs in the fifth inning and Triantos on first, Made lined a double to right to score another run and extend the Pelicans’ lead to 4-1.

Mahki Backstrom started the bottom of the fifth with a single for the GreenJackets. He stole second and moved to third by tagging on a flyout. Backstrom scored on Durbin’s double to left to cut the Pelicans’ lead to 4-2.

The Pelicans added runs in each of the final three innings to close the game. Triantos singled to lead off the seventh and Kevin Alcantara singled to put runners on first and second with nobody out. After Made struck out, Alcantara was hit by Murray’s single for the second out. Triantos and Murray advanced to second and third on a wild pitch and Triantos scored on a fielding error at short off the bat of Wetzel to make it a 5-2 lead for the Pelicans.

In the eighth, Preciado led off with his second hit of the night on a single. Fabrizio followed by crushing his first home run to right field for a two-run shot to make it 7-2 Birds. Preciado added another hit in the ninth with an RBI single to right for an 8-2 Myrtle Beach lead.

Rodriguez walked the bases loaded to Augusta in the ninth inning which led to Jarod Wright coming out of the bullpen for the Pelicans. His first pitch was lined to right by Morton for a bases-clearing triple as the GreenJackets cut the lead down to 8-5. Brian Klein flew out to end the game.

Myrtle Beach and Augusta will meet for game two of the series on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m.