Late Salem rally stings Pelicans in extras
SALEM, Va. (May 19, 2017) - Three Salem runs in the ninth and one more in the 10th allowed the Red Sox to walk-off on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 7-6 in 10 innings of Friday's series opener at Haley Toyota Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark.The Pelicans (22-20) led 6-3 going to
SALEM, Va. (May 19, 2017) - Three Salem runs in the ninth and one more in the 10th allowed the Red Sox to walk-off on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 7-6 in 10 innings of Friday's series opener at Haley Toyota Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark.
The Pelicans (22-20) led 6-3 going to the bottom of the ninth. Dillon Maples, who had worked a scoreless eighth, yielded a leadoff single to Bryan Hudson. A fielder's choice ground out exchanged Steven Reveles on first base before Tate Matheny walked. Maples struck out Chad De La Guerra, but then Michael Chavis socked a two-run triple to right to pull Salem (26-25) to within 6-5. The next batter was Josh Ockimey, who grounded a game-tying RBI single to right.
Scott Effross (1-1) got the final out of the ninth and then retired the first two batters of the 10th before walking Reveles, who stole second base. Matheny then knocked the walk-off single to right to hand the Red Sox a 7-6 victory.
Salem got on the board in the first inning off Myrtle Beach starter Oscar De La Cruz, who served a solo home run up to De La Guerra. De La Cruz settled in from there to allow three runs on four hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out five against one walk, but took a no-decision.
Myrtle Beach stormed right back in their next at-bats. Tyler Alamo doubled to begin the second. A Matt Rose single coupled with a Salem error brought Alamo in to score and placed Rose to third. Two batters later, Andruw Monasterio registered an RBI ground out to place the Birds in front at 2-1.
The score would remain that way until the sixth. Daniel Spingola, who had two hits, started the frame with a double. Two batters later, an Eddy Martinez single and Salem error plated Spingola. After an Alamo strikeout, Rose laced an RBI single to make it 4-1.
The Red Sox were able to get the two runs back almost immediately. De La Cruz hit Chavis with a pitch to begin the bottom of the sixth and then walked Ockimey. After a sacrifice bunt put both runners in scoring position,
With the same score in the eighth, Jesse Hodges walked to begin the frame. Another Salem error allowed Hodges to score all the way from first and put Martinez on second. Three batters after that, Adonis Paula rolled an RBI single to left to increase the advantage to 6-3.
Trevor Kelley (2-0) earned the win in relief for the Red Sox by retiring all six men he faced out of the bullpen, striking out two.
The loss was Myrtle Beach's fourth in the last fifth games and dropped the Pelicans into third place in the Southern Division.
The Birds and Red Sox will play the second game of their four-game set on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. LHP Ryan Kellogg (1-2, 5.82 ERA) goes for the Pelicans against Salem LHP Matt Kent (2-2, 4.60 ERA). Coverage begins at 5:50 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn.
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].