Late rally falls short against the P-Nats

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (June 26, 2017) - A late Myrtle Beach rally Monday came up just short in the Pelicans' 4-3 loss to the Potomac Nationals at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark.  
With Potomac (35-40, 2-3) leading Myrtle Beach (44-30, 1-3) 4-0 in the ninth, the Birds finally crack the scorecard. Eddy Martinez started the frame with a base knock to centerfield. Trent Giambrone reached on a fielder's choice before advancing to second on Tyler Alamo's fourth hit of the night, a career-high for the Pelicans' first baseman. Connor Myers notched the Pelicans' third hit of the inning to load the bases with just one man retired.
Giambrone advanced home on a ground out from Robert Garcia to give the Birds their first run of the contest. Alamo scored the second run of the game for Myrtle Beach following a defensive miscue. With Myers at third and P.J. Higgins at first, Bryant Flete ripped an RBI single back up the middle to make it a 4-3 ballgame. However, Eloy Jiménez struck out against Gilberto Mendez to end the contest, allowing Mendez to pick up her ninth save. 

Both starting pitchers were dealing early on until Potomac broke the scoreless tie in the fifth. Edwin Lora and Rhett Wiseman kicked off the frame with back-to-back singles. Both runners advanced into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Matt Reistetter. The fourth batter of the inning, Bryan Mejia, delivered a two-run single down the right field line, scoring both Lora and Wiseman to give the P-Nats the 2-0 advantage. 
Ian Sagdal kicked off the eighth inning with a single before he came home on a two-run home run from David Masters to extend the P-Nats lead to 4-0. 
Myrtle Beach starter Justin Steele (5-4) tossed 5.2 innings and allowed just two runs, but was outdueled by Potomac righty Nolan Sanburn (3-1). Sanburn tossed seven shutout innings en route to his third win of the year.
Myrtle Beach and Potomac will play game two of the four-game set on Tuesday. The 7:05 p.m. contest will feature Pelicans RHP Adbert Alzolay (6-1, 2.83 ERA) against Potomac LHP Grant Borne (3-2, 1.61 ERA). Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on MiLB.tv, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn.
Tomorrow's contest will feature be a Craft Beer Tuesday meaning $2.00 12 oz. craft draughts from 6-8 p.m. Gates will open at 6 p.m. at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark.
The 2017 season is the 19th season for the Pelicans franchise and third as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For information on tickets to see the Pelicans in 2017, please call (843) 918-6000, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.
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. The park has ranked in the top eight in all of Minor League Baseball by Stadium Journey in each of the last six seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences in all of sports in each of the last six years and the best in the Carolina League for six straight seasons as well. In May 2015, TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark won the 2015 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. The Pelicans are the two-time defending Mills Cup Champions, winning the title in 2015 and 2016 as well as 2000 and co-Mills Cup championship honors in the inaugural 1999 season. The Pelicans have made ten postseason appearances behind 12 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season and second half of 2016. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or emailing [email protected].