Fayetteville scores three in ninth, wins marathon contest over Birds

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (June 22, 2019)- The Fayetteville Woodpeckers scored three in the top of the ninth inning to knock off the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 5-3 on Saturday night from TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark.

For the third time this series, Fayetteville (3-0, 34-38) jumped in front of the Birds in game three. Jacob Meyers led off the ballgame with a triple and scored when the next batter Chandler Taylor delivered a sacrifice fly to put the Woodpeckers in front 1-0.
The very next batter, J.J. Matijevic, launched a solo homer to left field to extend the Fayetteville lead to 2-0 in the first inning. 
The Pelicans (0-3, 21-49) tied the game in the bottom of the second inning on a two-run homer from Luke Reynolds that evened the game at 2-2.
In the fourth, Cam Balego singled and advanced to second on an error to lead off the inning. Two batters later, Jimmy Herron lined a single through the right side of the infield and Balego scored from second and gave the Pelicans a 3-2 lead after the fourth. 
Erick Leal worked a scoreless inning in the fifth for the Pelicans and Cesar Rosado did the same for Fayetteville before the skies opened and the tarp went on the field.
After a two hour, two minute rain delay, the Pelicans turned to Jeffrey Passantino who fired three innings of runless baseball and struck out five to take the Birds into the ninth inning with a 3-2. 
In the ninth, Fayetteville got back-to-back singles from Matijevic and Adams to start off the inning. Manuel Rondon (L, 0-1) retired Scott Schreiber before Marty Costes singled to load the bases for the Woodpeckers. 
Fayetteville sent Michael Papierski to the plate to pinch hit and he delivered an RBI single to tie the game at three before Miguelangel Sierra singled in a pair of runs two batters later to put the Woodpeckers in front 5-3. 
Brett Conine (W, 3-1) retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth inning as Fayetteville took game three and clinched the series win with a 5-3 victory on Saturday night.
The Pelicans will conclude their series with Fayetteville on Sunday night at 6:05 p.m. RHP Alexander Vargas (1-1, 2.78) will take the hill for the Pelicans in the finale against RHP Nivaldo Rodriguez (2-3, 3.18) for Fayetteville. Coverage starts at 5:50 p.m. on MiLB.tv, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast and the MiLB First Pitch and TuneIn Apps.
Sunday will also be Family Sunday, courtesy of Anderson Brothers Bank, WPDE and 94.5 The Tide.
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].