Ninth-inning homer propels Fayetteville to win in second game of series

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (June 21, 2019)- The Myrtle Beach Pelicans could not hold a two-run advantage and they fell 5-4 to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers on Friday night from TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark.

The Woodpeckers (2-0, 33-38) put themselves on the board in the top of the second inning. After Erich Uelmen retired the first two batters of the inning, he walked Michael Papierski who later scored on an RBI double by Enmanuel Valdez that made it 1-0.
Fayetteville added a run to their total in the third when Jacob Meyers drew a walk to lead off the inning and scored on a single from Jake Adams that increased the Woodpeckers advantage to 2-0 in the third. 
The Pelicans (0-2, 21-48) did not let the disadvantage hold for long as the Birds took the lead in the fourth. 
Cam Balego put the Pelicans on the scoreboard with an RBI double and Aramis Ademan gave the Birds a 4-2 lead when he blasted a three-run bomb later in the frame. 
In the sixth, the Woodpeckers knotted the score at four apiece when Ruben Castro a bases-loaded popup fell in the infield which allowed two runners to score and Fayetteville tied it at 4-4.
Fayetteville reclaimed the lead in the top of the ninth when Meyers homered off of Ben Hecht (1-2) and gave the Woodpeckers a 5-4 lead with his sixth blast of the year. 
The Pelicans put the winning run on base in the bottom of the ninth, but Cesar Rosado nailed down the save for the Woodpeckers in the 5-4 win.
Leovanny Rodriguez (5-2) earned the win for the Woodpeckers with his 2.2 scoreless innings. 
Myrtle Beach will turn around and face the Woodpeckers in game three of the series on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. RHP Erick Leal (1-2, 3.74) will line up for the Birds against RHP Shawn Dubin (2-3, 4.74) for the Woodpeckers. The contest will be locally televised on The CW21 and MiLB.tv, with coverage beginning at 6:00 p.m. A radio broadcast will begin at 5:50 on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, TuneIn and the MiLB First Pitch app. 
Saturday will also be an Embrace Veterans Saturday presented by Embrace Hospice in addition to a Palmetto State Saturday. South Carolina fans receive $3 off of their game ticket by showing their local ID at the Anderson Brothers Bank Box Office, courtesy of Food Lion, Sparks Toyota, WMBF, The Sun News and NASH FM. The night will also include the Locals Dice Roll Extravaganza where, each Saturday, one local fan will have a chance to win up to $25,000 courtesy of HTC and Sparks Toyota and a Postgame Fireworks Extravaganza, presented by East Coast Pyrotechnics.
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].