Payne's two homers lead Birds to victory over Potomac in series finale

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (July 12, 2019) - The Myrtle Beach Pelicans overcame their largest deficit off the season and beat the Potomac Nationals 9-4 and win the series on Friday night from TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark.

The Nationals (10-12, 40-49) wasted little time getting to Javier Assad (W, 3-6) in the series finale as they plated three runs in the top half of the first inning. After back-to-back singles put runners at first and third to open the inning, the Nationals executed a double steal and Gage Canning scored the game's first run from third and made it 1-0 Nationals.
Potomac added another run on a double from Jack Sundberg that scored Cole Freeman and Sundberg was then driven in by Gilbert Lara who doubled to left and gave the P'Nats a 3-0 lead after one half inning. 
The Nationals tacked on a run in the fourth on an RBI single from Cole Freeman that extended the lead to 4-0.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Pelicans (12-11, 33-57) tied a season-high with a six-run inning to take the lead.
After the first two men in the inning reached, Tyler Payne unloaded the bases with a three-run homer to left off Malvin Pena (L, 5-5) that cut the gap to 4-3. 
Aramis Ademan restarted the rally with a triple to right and he scored on an RBI single from Grant Fennell and the Pelicans knotted the game up at 4-4. 
After a walk to Wladimir Galindo , Kevonte Mitchell gave the Pelicans a 5-4 lead when he doubled to left center.
Jimmy Herron brought in the final run of the frame when he plated Galindo on a sacrifice fly and the Birds led 6-4 after four. 
The Pelicans tacked on a run in the sixth inning when Carlos Sepulveda brought in Mitchell on a sacrifice fly that made it 7-4 Myrtle Beach. 
Payne took away all doubt in the seventh inning as he blasted his second homer of the night, a solo shot, that extended the Pelicans lead to 8-4.
In the eighth, Galindo doubled, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch that put the final tally on the Birds 9-4 win over Potomac. 
The Pelicans continue their nine-game homestand on Saturday as they welcome in the Lynchburg Hillcats for the first of three games at 6:05 p.m. RHP Paul Richan (8-4, 4.06) will toe the hill for the Pelicans against LHP Hector Hernandez (1-2, 2.48) 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. 
The first 1,000 fans will receive a David Bote McBoatface bobblehead. This giveaway is presented in association with Boaty McBoatface™ 2016, © 2018. Global rights holder Bambino Media Ltd, UK. All rights reserved.
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].