Salem finishes season on streak
Peter Hissey’s first professional grand slam and Matt Spring’s three-run blast highlighted a seven-run fourth inning that propelled the Salem Sox to a 10-3 victory over Myrtle Beach on the final day of the 2011 regular season. Stolmy Pimentel earned his sixth victory, holding Myrtle Beach to two runs on two hits in seven strong innings. Salem finished with a record of 64-75, 33-37 in the second half, and won four in a row and five of the last six to complete the slate.
Salem opened up a 3-0 lead in the top of the second on Monday night, utilizing two singles and three walks to score three times. Josue Peley drilled the first of his two hits to drive in the first run, and the Sox scored twice more on a wild pitch and a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded.
Two innings later, the Red Sox loaded the bases again via Peley’s double, Zach Gentile’s strikeout wild pitch, and Drew Dominguez’ hit-by-pitch. With one out, Hissey lifted a deep fly down the left-field line that snuck over the fence and inside the foul pole for a grand slam. The four-run shot was Hissey’s second homer of the season, both of which came against the Pelicans. In fact, all three of Hissey’s professional home runs have been belted against Myrtle Beach.
The slam made it 7-0, but the Sox were not done in the fourth. Heiker Meneses reached on Leury Garcia’s fielding error, Bryce Brentz singled Meneses to third, and then Matt Spring clobbered his second homer in as many days to shoot Salem to a 10-0 edge. Spring’s seventh Carolina League dinger gave the Sox a comfortable cushion for the pitcher’s to embrace.
Pimentel peppered the strike zone, surrendering back-to-back hits in the fourth inning but none others. Garcia doubled to lead off the fourth and Jared Prince smothered a two-run homer to make it 10-2, but Pimentel set down 11 of the next 13, hitting two batters who never passed first base. The Dominican righthander improved to 6-4 and lowered his Carolina League ERA to 4.53.
In relief, Manny Rivera permitted one run on two innings, striking out a pair in his perfect ninth to end the season. Myrtle Beach used seven different pitchers in their final game before the postseason, with Kasey Kiker suffering the loss, allowing three runs in a third of a frame on the mound.
Every member of Salem’s lineup reached base and scored a run, with Spring and Peley registering multi-hit evenings to complete the campaign. The two home runs gave Salem 93 round-trippers for the season, the most for any Salem Sox squad since the Red Sox returned to the Roanoke Valley in 2009.
Walkoff walk dooms ‘Cats
It took a season-long for the Hillcats 12 innings but theirgame against the Pelicans finally ended on a walk-off walk, Myrtle Beachwinning 3-2. Joey Terdoslavich went 4-for-6 in the ball game, crushing his 50th double of the season in the third inning. He is now just one double away fromtying the all-time Carolina League single season record.
Lynchburg led early scoring two runs in the second. JoeLeonard reached on an error. Shawn McGill then drew a walk. With runners atfirst and second Marcus Lemon put down a sacrifice bunt to third base. JimmySwift fielded and threw the ball away at first, Leonard scored, McGill went tothird, and Lemon advanced to second. Barrett Kleinknecht drove in McGill with asacrifice fly to left field. The Hillcats without the benefit of a hit in theframe scored a pair and led 2-0.
Despite tallying 12 hits in the other 11 innings, the ‘Catswould not score the rest of the game. Even with three hits coming in the 10thinning alone, the Hillcats stranded the bases loaded and failed to score.
Meanwhile the Pelicans’ offense consisted of one man. MikeOlt went deep twice in the ball game. He hit a solo shot in the fourth inningand another in the seventh inning. Both came off starter David Hale.
Hale went eight innings, gave up just two runs on six hits,while striking out five but took a no-decision as the game went to extras tied2-2.
The 10th and 11th innings wentscoreless, as did the Lynchburg half of the 12th.
RHP Mark Lamm came back out to pitch the bottom of the 12thfor the Hillcats, looking to complete his fourth inning of relief. He struckout the first two batters but Santiago would not let Myrtle go quietly into the13th. He doubled with two outs, and that was the beginning of theend. Lamm then intentionally walked Travis Adair a left-handed batter to get tothe right-handed Jared Prince. Prince also drew a walk of the unintentionalvariety. That loaded the bases and Lamm left the game.
LHP Matt Crim entered to face left-handed batter AndrewClark. Clark worked the count full before taking a fastball in the dirt for ballfour and the Pelicans won 3-2. Lynchburg fell in the finale but took the series2-1.
Joseph Ortiz (5-5) earned the win with three scorelessinnings of relief. Lamm (1-2) suffered the loss for Lycnhburg.
The Hilcats are now 27-32 in the second half, still fivegames back of the Potomac Nationals for a playoff spot with just 10 games left.
Lynchburg travels to Kinston next to take on the Indians ina three-game set. Game one is scheduled for 6:30 pm Friday night. RHP CalebBrewer (1-0) will start for the Hillcats against RHP Clayton Cook (8-8) forKinston.
Lynchburg wins in extras
The Hillcats never led until the final inning Tuesday night.Tied 4-4 heading into the 11th, Lynchburg doubled their total withfour more runs. Joe Leonard delivered the go-ahead blow with a two-runground-rule double. The Hillcats went on to win 8-4.
The Pelicans started the scoring in the bottom of the first.Ryan Strausborger doubled to lead off the inning. Two batters later, JaredPrince drove him home with a sacrifice fly to center field. Myrtle Beach led1-0.
Lynchburg tied the game with three straight two-out singlesin the top of the second frame. Shawn McGill eventually scored on a GeraldoRodriguez single. The tie would be short lived as the Pelicans retook the leadin the bottom of the inning. Santiago Chirino singled home Jared Hoying puttingMyrtle Beach back up by one, 2-1.
Two more runs scored for the home team. One in the fourth ona Travis Adair RBI single, and another in the fifth when Vinny DiFazio hit asacrifice fly to center field.
The ‘Cats battled back with two runs in the sixth inning.McGill started the inning with a single. After Lemon walked, Rodriguez camethrough again with his second RBI single of the night. Two batters later,Keenan Wiley brought home Lemon with his second base hit of the night. TheHillcats still trailed 4-3.
That score held until the ninth inning. Andrelton Simmonsled off the inning with a single up the middle. He advanced to second base on awild pitch out. Todd Cunninghamthen grounded out to shortstop, moving Simmons to third. Joe Leonard hit asacrifice fly to center field and the game was tied 4-4.
Lynchburg nearly gave away the game in the bottom of theninth. RHP Jeremy Haynes retired the first batter but then walked the next two.LHP Ryan Buchter then came in form the bullpen. He struck out his first batterbefore walking Andrew Clark to load the bases with two outs. Mike Olt came upnext. He worked the count two and two before hitting a line shot to the rightside. Rodriguez dove to his right at first base to make the catch and save thegame for the Hillcats.
The game headed to extras tied 4-4. It stayed that way untilthe 11th inning.
RHP Ryan Rodebaugh entered the game for the Pelicans.Barrett Kleinknecht shot his first hit of the night into center field. Wileyfollowed with a walk, while trying to put down a sacrifice bunt. An errantpick-off attempt to second base went into center field while Simmons was at theplate and both runners advanced. Simmons then popped up to first base.Cunningham was then intentionally walked to load the bases for Leonard. Leonard’sground-rule double brought home two. Christian Bethancourt singled in a pairafter that. The Hillcats went up 8-4.
Buchter (2-5) held the Pelicans scoreless in the 11thand earned his second win of the season. Rodebaugh (1-1) took the loss.
The Hillcats improved to 26-31 with the win, while thePelicans fell to 27-30 with the loss.
The two teams meet again tomorrow night at 7:05 pm. LHPChrist Masters (9-6) will start for Lynchburg against RHP Kennil Gomez (4-2)for Myrtle Beach. Listen live to all the action starting with the HillcatsOn-Deck Show powered by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg on 105.5 KD Country andonline at lynchburg-hillcats.com
Pelicans silence Salem
One night after matching a season-high with 17 hits, the Sox offense was stymied by the spectacular craftsmanship of Miguel De Los Santos, who spun six scoreless innings and struck out 11 to highlight Myrtle Beach’s 4-0 triumph on Tuesday night at LewisGale Field. The Pelicans took an early lead against Salem starter Drake Britton, and the Red Sox never sent a baserunner past second base in the entire ballgame against De Los Santos and a duo of relievers who combined to deal a five-hit shutout.
De Los Santos only struck out one of the first seven batters he faced, but turned it up a notch by whiffing 10 of the final 12 he saw to complete his sterling six-inning performance. Heiker Meneses led off the game with an infield single, the only hit that De Los Santos permitted through the duration of his outing. In relief, Jimmy Reyes struck out a pair in his two scoreless frames on the mound, while Zach Osborne pitched around two singles in the ninth to complete the shutout.
The Pelicans plated a pair in the top of the first against Britton, using four straight singles and a sac fly from Andrew Clark to assume to 2-0 edge in the opening moments. Myrtle Beach jumped to a 3-0 lead on Travis Adair’s RBI ground-out in the second and tacked on an insurance tally off reliever T.J. Hose in the top of the ninth.
Despite some early struggles, Britton finished his outing strong, dealing a 1-2-3 fifth and setting down eight of the final nine men he faced. Unfortunately, the lack of run support served Britton his 13th loss of the season. Chris Martin continued to amaze with three scoreless innings out of the pen, preceding Hose’s one-run ninth.
All 17 combined hits in the game were singles, with the Sox managing just five of them. Heiker Meneses and Shannon Wilkerson both extended their current hitting streaks to eight games, as Meneses went 2-4 and Wilkerson finished 1-3. Every member of the Myrtle Beach lineup chipped in with at least one hit, with Ryan Strausborger, Andrew Clark, and Santiago Chirino each contributing two hits.
In the last of the seventh, Salem manager Bruce Crabbe and designated hitter Bryce Brentz were both ejected in the aftermath of a controversial non-call in the batter’s box. It appeared that a Reyes slider hit Brentz in the foot while the hitter checked his swing, but umpire John Bacon made no signal of sending Brentz to first. Crabbe argued vehemently, motioning for Bacon to ask to the umpire on the bases for his opinion. But Bacon refused to seek help and tossed Crabbe shortly thereafter. One pitch later, Brentz chased a slider away, struck out, said something to Bacon, and immediately was run from the proceedings as well. It was the third time this season that Crabbe had been ejected.
The Red Sox and Pelicans reunite on Wednesday for the series rubber match, with Anthony Ranaudo taking the mound against Wilfredo Boscan. First pitch is slated for 7:05.
Mailman delivers walkoff for Salem
David Mailman’s walk-off two-run blast in the bottom of the tenth ignited the celebration, surging the Salem Sox to a satisfying 8-6 victory over Myrtle Beach on Monday night at LewisGale Field. With one out and a man at first, Mailman sent a towering fly off Colby Killian into the whistling wind that blew out to left, helping the soaring ball clear the wall with ease. The opposite-field shot was the sixth of the year for Mailman and the 17th hit of the night for Salem, matching a season-high for most hits in a game.
The exciting climax was preceded by a circuitous nine innings, in which the Red Sox took a 5-0 lead, coughed it up and trailed 6-5 after seven, and then evened the score again with a clutch two-out RBI double in the eighth from Heiker Meneses. Pete Ruiz sustained the tie by stranding the potential go-ahead runner at third base in the top of the ninth, and Jordan Flasher dealt a perfect tenth to earn the victory in his Carolina League debut.
The Red Sox delivered a potent two-out rally in the bottom of the third, cataloguing five runs after the first two hitters in the frame struck out. Meneses began the rally with the first of his two doubles, and Jorge Padron walked to bring up Bryce Brentz. After both runners moved into scoring position on wild pitch from Pelican starter Chad Bell, Brentz belted two-run double into the deep right-center field gap. Miles Head followed with his own RBI double that made it 3-0, and Shannon Wilkerson drilled the next pitch into right for a single that gave the Sox a 4-0 lead, scoring Head from second. The rally concluded via Alex Valdez’ drive to the base of the center-field fence, scoring Wilkerson from first to make it 5-0. Although Valdez was gunned down trying to stretch his double into a triple, the phenomenal rally gave the Sox a seemingly comfortable cushion.
Unfortunately, Ryan Pressly’s route through the top of the fifth was not as smooth as the previous four frames. He held the visitors to just one hit through four, but walked the leadoff man in the fifth and surrendered three straight one-out hits that plated three runs. Pressly recorded the second out of the inning and then left due to an unknown injury with Salem leading 5-3.
In the top of the sixth, the Pelicans plated two more against Ruiz to complete the comeback, taking advantage of three free passes in the frame. A bases-loaded walk drawn by Andrew Clark forced home Andres James to tied it at five. Ruiz did manage to induce a 6-4 fielder’s choice from Zach Zaneski to strand the bases loaded, three of the 12 that Myrtle Beach left on base in the game.
Myrtle Beach assumed its lead in the seventh, as Ryan Strausborger scurried home from third on James’ grounder to first. Miles Head fielded the slow chopper and tried to throw out the man running home, but Strausborger’s speed combined with Head’s double-clutching the throw allowed the Pelicans to surge in front 6-5. In the bottom of the eighth, however, Mailman drew a one-out walk and crossed the plate two batters later on Meneses’ double, setting the table for the dramatic finish in the tenth.
Brentz, Head, and Wilkerson all registered three-hit games for the Red Sox, while Meneses, Mailman, and Valdez contributed two hits apiece for the Sox offense that has compiled double-digit hits in six of the last seven games.
The Sox will try and build on their back-to-back wins in the middle matchup of the current three-game set with Myrtle Beach, scheduled for Tuesday night at 7:05. Drake Britton will get the start for Salem opposite Miguel De Los Santos for Myrtle.
Two-out hits doom P-Nats
A flurry of two-out runs propelled the Myrtle Beach Pelicans to a 5-2 win over the Potomac Nationals in Woodbridge on Sunday afternoon. With the victory, the Pelicans earned a split in four-game series with bookend wins. Andrew Clark’s two-run homer in his Pelicans debut proved to be the game winner, and was one of seven two-out hits for Myrtle Beach in front of 1,608 at Pfitzner Stadium.
Cameron Selik (4-9) retired the first eleven Myrtle Beach hitters he faced, but ran into a wall with two outs in the fourth inning. His trouble started with a walk of Travis Adair, and the Pelicans followed with four consecutive extra-base hits, including Clark’s homer, and surged ahead 4-0.
Potomac had taken a lead in the third inning. Francisco Soriano led off with a walk, stole second and scored on consecutive groundouts by Jeff Kobernus and Destin Hood. Hood has now driven in 75 runs, the second most in the Carolina League.
Mitchell Clegg relieved Selik with two outs in the fourth, and retired the first six hitters he faced. He, too, ran into two-out trouble. In the sixth inning, the Pelicans strung together three straight singles, the last of which came off the bat of Jared Hoying and pushed Myrtle ahead 5-1.
Jose Lozada’s leadoff homer in the seventh inning got the Nationals their final run and pulled them within three.
But the Nationals went down with a whimper in the eighth and ninth innings against Myrtle Beach relievers Ryan Kelly and Ryan Odebaugh. Eury Perez was the Nats’ only baserunner in the final two frames; after a two-out single he was picked off first base to end the game.
The Nationals (55-63) and the Pelicans (64-54) split their 20-game season series.
Potomac makes its final trip to Grainger Stadium Monday night. The Nationals send Adam Olbrychowski to the mound in the opener of a three-game series at 7:00 P.M.
P-Nats edge Pelicans
Paul Demny threw eight strong innings against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and led the Potomac Nationals to a 3-2 victory.
In his previous six starts, Demny failed to last through six innings and averaged over four runs per start during that stretch. Saturday night, however, he delivered perhaps his best start of the season.
Demny faced his first obsticle when Myrtle Beach knocked consecutive one-out singles in the third inning. Demny settled in, though, and induced the next batter into a double play, which ended the inning and the threat.
The Nationals offense came to the aid of their starting pitcher early as well, thanks to a leadoff double by Archie Gilbert. After he was moved over on a fly out to right field, Destin Hood knocked him home on a sacrifice fly. Hood increased his RBI total to 74 and inched closer to the Carolina League leader, Winston-Salem’s Ian Gac who has 82.
That run remained the game’s only tally until the sixth inning. With one out in the frame, Steven Souza was hit by a pitch by Kennil Gomez with one out. The very next batter, Sandy Leon, cracked a double into the right-center gap which scored Souza all the way from first.
The next inning, the Nationals bats remained hot when Cutter Dykstra led the inning of with a double down the left field line. Archie Gilbert followed him with a seeing-eye single through the gap between shortstop and third, but Dykstra was only able to advance to third on the play.
The next play proved to be the play of the game as Jose Lozada chopped a grounder to third and Dykstra shuffled towards home on contact. The third baseman whipped the ball to home but Dykstra slid brilliantly and avoided the tag from the catcher, which gave him the run and gave the P-Nats the 3-0 lead late in the game.
The Pelicans did not go quietly, though, when in the eighth inning the led off with consecutive extra base hits, which plated one run and left another runner on third with no outs. The runner came home shortly after on a ground ball to second where Potomac traded an out for a run, which cleared the bases. Demny finished the inning without another blemish.
He ended his day with eight innings pitched, five hits, two runs and struck out four batters.
Marcos Frias relieved him in the ninth and with the exception of a leadoff single, he shut the door on the Pelicans and ended the game by the 3-2 score.
Demny (8-10) was awarded the win for his brilliant performance while Gomez (2-3) was given the loss for Myrtle Beach.
The Nationals and Pelicans wrap up their four-game weekend series tomorrow afternoon. Potomac will send Cameron Selik (4-8) to the hill while Myrtle Beach sends Justin Grimm (3-2).
Pelicans rip P-Nats
Thursday night’s game between the Potomac Nationals and Myrtle Beach Pelicans was a reprisal of last week’s matchup between Erik Davis and Miguel Santos. Like last Saturday, Miguel De Los Santos struck out double-digit Nationals – and that is where the similarities ended in a 12-5 Pelicans win.
Unlike his previous start, Davis (0-2) was shaky early and was chased in the fifth inning. De Los Santos (4-3), who allowed no hits in seven innings in Myrtle, yielded four runs on five hits at the Pfitz on Thursday.
Myrtle (63-52) surged to a four-run lead after the first two innings. Leury Garcia set the tone when he led off the game with a double; he scored after a pair of groundouts, the second by Travis Adair that made it 1-0 Myrtle.
In the second, consecutive singles by Ryan Strausborger and Jared Hoying opened the frame with singles. Davis then got the next two hitters and nearly escaped the jam, but Garcia struck again. His two-out single scored Strausborger before Jared Bolden broke the game open with a triple to left-center that put the Pelicans ahead 4-0.
Potomac (53-62) drew within a run in their half of the third, thanks to some help from the Pelicans defense. Eury Perez’s bunt single was the Nats’ first hit of the game, and was followed by a rope to right by Francisco Soriano. After Perez and Soriano stole second and third, Jeff Kobernus struck out. Destin Hood’s one-out groundout got the Nats on the board and made it 4-1. Brian Peacock then singled to center field to pull the Nats within two. Archie Gilbert then hit a ground ball that was misplayed by Pelicans shortstop Leury Garcia and moved Peacock to third. De Los Santos’s wild pitch game Potomac their third run.
In the top of the fifth, Potomac returned the defensive favor. Travis Adair reached on an infield single before Jared Prince flied out to right. But Davis then hit both Zach Zaneski and Strausborger to load the bases. His walk of Jared Hoying made it 5-3 Myrtle and sent Davis to the showers.
Neil Holland relieved Davis and got a made-to-order double-play ball to short. It scooted under Zach Walter’s glove for an error and scored Zaneski and Strausborger to make it 7-3 Pelicans.
The Nats got a run back in the bottom of the fifth. Hood led off the frame with a single and stole second (the Nationals stole X bases on the night) and moved to third on a throwing error by Zaneski. Brian Peacock then singled again to pull Potomac to 7-4.
Myrtle ended Potomac’s hopes in the seventh inning. Rob Wort came on to pitch, and started the frame with a strikeout of Strausborger. Jared Hoying then tripled but was thrown out after in a rundown when Chirino hit a ball right to Jose Lozada. But with two outs, Wort’s command eluded him. He walked two in a row before Jared Bolden delivered the knockout punch. His bases-clearing double pushed the Pelicans ahead 9-4. After Joe Testa relieved Wort, and Adair greeted him with a two-run double that made it 11-4. Adair scored on a Prince double to finish the score to 12-4.
Potomac got one back in the last of the ninth. Cutter Dykstra’s two-out single scored Eury Perez, who singled to open the inning.
Friday night, Stephen Strasburg will start for the P-Nats at 7:05 P.M. The gates to Pfitzner Stadium will open at 5 P.M.; it is also Ian Desmond bobblehead night, and the 1,000 fans through the gates will receive the Desmond bobble.
Pelicans blank Lynchburg in twinbill
The Hillcats’ offense all but disappeared Wednesday night, totaling just four hits through two seven-inning games. The ‘Cats were shutout in both games losing 5-0 and 4-0 to the Pelicans.
Santiago Chirino kick-started the Pelicans’ offense in the bottom of the third inning in game one. Chirino to lead off the inning and advanced to second base when shortstop Andrelton Simmons bobbled the ground ball in shallow left field. David Paisano doubled home Chirino putting the Pelicans on the board. Later in the inning with runners at first and second Joe Leonard committed an error on a ground ball off the bat of Jared Prince allowing Leury Garcia to score. The Pelicans led 2-0.
Myrtle Beach extended their lead in the bottom of the sixth. Chirino did the cleaning up instead of the table setting this time around with a three-run home run. It was his fourth of the season and it put the Pelicans on top 5-0.
RHP Justin Grimm finished six scoreless inning on his way to his third win of the season, while RHP Zeke Spruill went six innings as well, allowing five runs, four earned to take the loss. Spruill’s six inning effort earned him his fifth complete game of the season, which leads the league.
It was more of the same in game two.
Barrett Kleinknecht’s double in the third inning was the only hit for Lynchburg.
The Pelicans led from the beginning with two runs in the first. Travis Adair and Vinny DiFazio contributed RBI singles. Then in the fourth, Jared Prnice doubled home two more to give Myrtle Beach a 4-0 lead, and that’s the way game two would finish.
LHP Chad Bell in just his second start of the season went five scoreless innings. He combined with lefty Joseph Ortiz out the pen for another shutout. LHP Blaine Sims took the loss for the Hillcats, lasting just three and two-thirds innings while surrendering four earned runs on nine hits.
It was just the second time this season the Hillcats had been swept in a doubleheader, and now the second time this road trip the team had been shutout in back-to-back games.
The Hillcats are now 11-21 in the second half tied for third place with the Wilmington Blue Rocks in the Carolina League Northern Division.
The series finale in Myrtle Beach is set for 7:05 pm Thursday night. RHP Aaron Shafer (3-3) will start for the Hillcats against RHP Barret Loux (8-5) for the Pelicans. Listen live to all the action starting wth the Hillcats On-Deck Show powered by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg at 6:40 pm on 105.5 KD Country and online at lynchburg-hillcats.com.
Lynchburg wins at Myrtle Beach
David Hale allows just one run for the second straight start and this time is rewarded with a win. The Pelicans continued their offensive woes with only three hits and one run in the game, coming off a series in Frederick in which the team scored just one run in three games. The bullpen held Myrtle Beach scoreless in the last three and the Hillcats won 4-1.
The Pelican managed to score first with two of their three hits coming back-to-back in the bottom of the second. Santiago Chirino singled and Jared Hoying doubled, putting runners at second and third with one out. Vinny DiFazio then grounded into a 5-6 fielder’s choice. Hoying was tagged out at third but Chirino came in to score, putting the Pelicans up 1-0.
Lynchburg answered in the top of the fourth. Joey Terdoslavich lined his league-leading 27th double of the season to left-center field. Pelican center fielder, Ryan Strausborger dove past the ball, and Phil Gosselin scored all the way from first to tie the game. Terdoslavich would later score on a fielder’s choice giving the Hillcats a 2-1 lead.
The Hillcats added one more in the seventh, an RBI single for L.V. Ware, and another in the ninth when Keenan Wiley tripled home Christian Bethancourt. They led 4-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Ryan Buchter as expected came in for the save. He hit his first batter before retiring three in a row, converting his 10th save in 10 opportunities this season for the Hillcats.
Hale (2-4) earned the win, surrendering just one run on three hits in six innings. Pelicans’ starter Wilfredo Boscan (3-8) took the loss allowing three runs in seven innings of work.
The Hillcats improved to 11-19 with the win, while the Pelicans fell for the fourth straight night and are now 15-16 in the second half.
The two teams meet again tomorrow night at 7:05 pm. RHP Zeke Spruill (7-8) will start for Lynchburg against fellow righty Justin Grimm (2-2) for Myrtle Beach. Listen live to all the action starting with the Hillcats On-Deck Show powered by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg at 6:40 pm on 105.5 KD Country and online at lynchburg-hillcats.com.
Salem falls in extras
Once again, Jared Bolden delivered the knockout blow, sending Salem to the mat for a 10-count with a two-out, two-run jack in the last of the 13th inning to propel his Pelicans to an 8-6 comeback victory. For the second straight day, the Red Sox coughed up a three-run lead in the late innings only to fall in extras, as Myrtle beach completed the four-game sweep of Salem in agonizing fashion.
In the bottom of the ninth, Salem led 6-5 and reliever Will Latimer struck out the first two batters of the frame. But Ryan Strausborger doubled with two away and Jared Prince singled him home to knot the score at six. This came after the Pelicans scored twice in the last of the seventh, cutting a 6-3 deficit down to one against Tom Ebert.
Fast forward to the bottom of the 13th, and Anatanaer Batista had retired the first two men in the frame before inducing a Leury Garcia fly-ball to the warning track in right field. Bryce Brentz backpedaled, appeared to be in position, but could not haul it in and was charged with an error, Salem’s fifth defensive miscue of the night, a season high. Bolden confidently strode to the plate and sent another deep drive to right, sending Brentz back to the fence. Salem’s right-fielder reached up, but this time it soared out of his reach and over the wall to conclude the game and the series.
Bolden and Strausborger each finished with four hits for Myrtle Beach, while Derrik Gibson connected on four hits and stole three bases for Salem. Bolden’s star shined brightest in the series, however, as the Pelican first-baseman went 12-for-20 in the four game set.
The entire game included eight errors—five on Salem—and 28 hits, 24 of which were singles. All of Salem’s 11 knocks were just one-base hits, while Strausborger doubled three times, the only extra-base hits for the Pelicans until Bolden’s round-tripper ended the game.
Salem starter Chris Hernandez pitched decently enough and was in line for the win until Latimer allowed the two-out run in the ninth and blew the save. Hernandez allowed just one earned run (three total) in five innings, with four strikeouts and no walks. Pelican starter Barret Loux was pushed around a bit more, but hung in there with a solid six inning, three earned run (six total) effort, striking out four and walking two. Both starters allowed nine hits, but Hernandez only allowed one double and Loux did not permit a single extra-base hit.
The Pelican bullpen pitched phenomenally, tossing seven scoreless innings, in which it allowed just two hits. Ryan Rodebaugh picked up the win, his first Carolina League victory, while Batista suffered the loss, falling to 4-3.
The loss was Salem’s sixth straight extra-inning defeat, dropping the Sox to 2-6 in extra-inning tilts in 2011. The 13-inning duration was the longest game, innings-wise, of the season, bettering the 11-inning loss to Lynchburg on June 1. Saturday night’s affair concluded in three hours and 39 minutes, however, a full 37 minutes shorter than the June 1 contest.
Salem returns to the Roanoke Valley following the game and prepares to host the Frederick Keys on Sunday afternoon at 4:05, commencing a seven-game homestand at LewisGale Field. Ryan Pressly takes the mound for the Red Sox opposite Nick Haughian for the Keys in the series opener.
Pelicans rally to down Salem
Pelican catcher Zach Zaneski crushed a game-winning line drive to right field off Jeremiah Bayer in the bottom of the tenth, scoring Trevor Adair from the third, to culminate a 4-3 comeback victory over the Red Sox on Friday night at BB&T Coastal Field. The game-ending knock was extra sweet for Zaneski, who extended his hitting streak to 15 games despite going hitless in his previous four at-bats in the first nine innings. Salem held a 3-0 lead after six innings thanks to some early offense and a brilliant performance from Anthony Ranaudo, but the Pelicans connected on three consecutive doubles against Ranaudo to begin the bottom of the seventh, knocking the Sox righthander from the game and denying him, and Salem, a victory.
The Red Sox connected for three early tallies, but failed to score over the final seven innings of the ballgame. Salem plated a pair in the first thanks to Jorge Padron’s RBI single and Dan Butler’s sac fly. Two innings later, Padron’s second RBI single gave the Sox a 3-0 lead. Derrik Gibson recorded two infield hits, two steals, and scored two runs in the first three innings, but finished the night 2-5 at the top of the Red Sox lineup.
Ranaudo did not walk a batter and flashed excellent command of his fastball and secondary pitches during his first six frames, yielding just three singles over that stretch. In the last of the seventh, however, Santiago Chirino blasted a first-pitch double to left-center. That was immediately followed by consecutive RBI doubles from Jared Hoying and David Paisano, making the score 3-2 and chasing Ranaudo from the game after 81 pitches, including 58 strikes. Following an Andres James sac bunt that moved Paisano to third, Leury Garcia grounded into a 4-2-5 fielder’s choice, with the Red Sox retiring Paisano in a run-down. But with two outs, Jared Bolden singled home Garcia to tie the game at three.
Ranaudo’s final line included three earned runs on six hits over six-plus innings. He received a no-decision and the game was left to the bullpens.
Salem possessed a golden opportunity with two-on and one-out in the top of the ninth, but the Red Sox failed to capitalize against Pelicans reliever Zach Osborne. In the bottom the ninth, the Pelicans squandered a sensational chance too, lining into an inning-ending double-play with runners at first and third with one away.
In the first extra frame, Salem’s offense went in order, and Myrtle Beach left-fielder Travis Adair led off with a triple. After a walk to Jared Prince, Zaneski clobbered a 3-2 offering from Bayer into the right-center field gap to conclude the evening. In normal circumstances, Zaneski could have easily ran for extra bases, but in this case, his teammates mobbed him after he rounded first.
The game became testy for a brief stretch in the second inning, with the benches clearing in the secondary aftermath of Ranaudo hitting Paisano with a pitch. The plunking occurred on a 1-2 count with two outs and the bases empty in the bottom of the second, and after Paisano was looked at by Pelicans trainer Jeff Bodenhamer, he began to charge at Ranaudo while walking to first. The two had been barking at each other and it seemed like a fracas could ensue, but players and coaches separated them and the emotions fizzled over the final innings, with nothing more coming from the minor skirmish.
The Red Sox hope to salvage the final game of the series in South Carolina on Saturday night by sending Chris Hernandez to the mound against Barrett Loux. First pitch by the Beach is set for 7:05, and Salem travels home after the game for a Sunday afternoon matinee against Frederick, scheduled to begin at 4:05 at LewisGale Field.
