Red Sox sweep Pelicans with Sunday walk-off win

SALEM, Va. (August 25, 2019) - The Myrtle Beach Pelicans could not hold a one-run lead late as the Salem Red Sox won 3-2 on a walk-off double from Kole Cottam to complete the sweep of the Birds on Sunday from Haley Toyota Field.

After Pelicans (32-30, 53-76) starter Alexander Vargas tossed a pair of scoreless innings to open the ballgame, the Red Sox (35-27, 60-69) got to the right hander in the third. Tanner Nishioka led the inning off with a single and following a double from Grant Williams, Garrett Benge drove in the first run of the game for Salem with an RBI single to right that made it 1-0.
Andrew Politi, a spot starter for Salem, tossed five hitless innings and struck out five before he exited in favor of Dylan Thompson in the sixth. 
After Thompson retired the first batter of the frame, he walked Kevonte Mitchell and surrendered singles to Delvin Zinn and Carlos Sepulveda , the bases were loaded for Cam Balego . Balego chopped a ball off of Thompson's glove, reached first on an infield single and Mitchell scored to tie the game at 1-1. 
In the top of the ninth inning, Thompson retired the first two batters before he allowed a two-out base hit to Luke Reynolds, who scored on a Grant Fennell double and the Pelicans took a 2-1 lead in the ninth. 
Ethan Roberts (L, 1-2) entered in the ninth for the Pelicans and he allowed back-to-back one-out doubles to Ryan Fitzgerald and Devlin Granberg, tying the game at 2-2 in the ninth. Then, with two on and one out in the frame, Cottam lined a ball off the right field wall and Granberg came in to score the winning run as the Red Sox completed the sweep with a 3-2 walk-off win.
The Pelicans continue their 11-game road trip on Monday as they take on the Potomac Nationals for the first of four games at 7:05 p.m. LHP Brailyn Marquez (3-0, 0.59) will take the hill for the Birds against LHP Tim Cate (5-4, 3.54) for the Nationals in the series opener. Coverage starts at 6:50 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].