Rally Comes Up Short, Pelicans Fall 6-5 to GreenJackets

Myrtle Beach tallied double-digit hits for the fifth game in a row

By Sam Weiderhaft

For the third time this week, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans dropped a game to the Augusta GreenJackets by the final of 6-5 on Friday night. With the loss, the Pelicans now stand at 71-47 on the season with a 24-28 second-half record. Augusta moved to 61-56 with a 25-26 second-half record. With their third loss of the week, the Pelicans will be held without a series win for the fourth week in a row.

The Pelicans have racked up double-digit hits in all four games of the series with 12 on Friday night. DH Moises Ballesteros (2-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI) brought home two on a ninth-inning home run for his second of the year. Pedro Ramirez (3-5) collected three hits in his Myrtle Beach debut.

Grant Kipp (0-1) took the loss with four earned runs in his four innings off four hits and three walks. Angel Hernandez followed with two earned runs in his three innings. As a team, the Birds walked nine and struck out six.

Augusta turned seven hits to six runs in the win. Francisco Floyd (1-4, 2 RBI) led the team with a pair of runs batted in. Stephen Paolini (1-4, HR, RBI) hit a solo home run in the top of the third for the GreenJackets.

Rolddy Munoz (1-3) threw four innings in relief with two earned runs off seven hits and two strikeouts to earn the win. Rob Griswold saved his eighth game with an outing of 2 1/3 innings with two earned runs off the home run.

Paolini homered to right field off Kipp to give Augusta an early lead on the first pitch of the top of the third in a scoreless game. Two batters later, Ignacio Alvarez singled to center to score another run. Later in the inning, David McCabe hit a sacrifice fly to center with runners on the corners. Kevin Kilpatrick finished off the inning with an RBI triple for a 4-0 GreenJackets lead.

Chavers drew a walk with two outs in the bottom half and came in to score on a double down the right field line by Ballesteros to put the Pelicans on the board.

Myrtle Beach added another run on a forceout by Reginald Preciado with runners on the corners to cut the lead to 4-2.

The score remained the same until the bottom of the seventh when the Birds cut the lead to one. With two outs and a runner on third, Ezequiel Pagan lined a single to right to make it 4-3 Augusta.

The GreenJackets added two insurance runs in the top of the eighth off a bases-loaded single by Floyd that scored two runs. Augusta went into the bottom of the ninth inning up 6-3.

Ramirez hit a one-out single to left to get on base in the bottom of the ninth. After the following batter was retired, Ballesteros launched a two-run home run to right field for his second of the season to make it 6-5. Pagan struck out to end the game.

Saturday night’s contest is set for 6:05 p.m. between the Pelicans and GreenJackets.