The Salem Red Sox dropped a marathon contest with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on Monday night, 7-4 in 11 innings. The game featured two separate rain delays totaling 93 minutes.
Salem used a strong offensive start and an adventurous outing from Kevin McAvoy to jump ahead in the first game of the series against the Pelicans. McAvoy tossed five innings of one-run, two-hit baseball but pitched around trouble all night. The right-hander walked seven batters, but had the benefit of four double plays turned behind him. McAvoy exited with a 4-1 lead but did not factor in the decision.
All four of the Red Sox runs were scored in the first three frames beginning in the first when Anuery Tavarez singled home Manuel Margot to make it 1-0. Margot finished 2-for-4 at the top of Salem’s order with a stolen base and an RBI to go with his run scored. His double scored Jordan Betts in the second inning, extending the lead to 2-0.
Salem would put another pair on the board an inning later when Wendell Rijo jacked a two-run home run to left-center. It was Rijo’s second homer of the year and it gave Salem a 4-0 lead.
McAvoy loaded the bases in the fourth on three walks, but again pitched effectively with runners on base, escaping the inning with just one run scored. The tally came from a Victor Caratini infield single; with every bag occupied, the batted ball caromed off of first base and everybody was safe. One batter later, Shawon Dunston Jr. grounded in to an inning-ending double play and McAvoy again escaped trouble.
Joe Gunkel replaced McAvoy in the sixth inning and gave up a home run to Billy McKinney to lead off the frame. With two outs in the home half of the same inning the skies opened up and the game was delayed for an hour.
After the game resumed, the Pelicans continued to chip away at the lead. Jacob Rogers homered in the eighth, cutting the lead to 4-3. Austin Maddox entered for the ninth inning and had two outs when Jacob Hannemann singled to keep the inning alive. After stealing second base, Hannemann scored on a Mark Zagunis single to tie the game.
The tenth inning yielded zeros for both teams, but Myrtle Beach would strike in the top of the 11th with three consecutive singles from Daniel Lockhart, Carlos Penalver and Hannemann, eventually scoring Lockhart to give the Pelicans the lead for good. Penalver would later score on a Zagunis sacrifice fly and Hannemann was driven in by a McKinney single to make it 7-4.
Salem put one runner aboard in the bottom half but was shut down by Matt Brazis who earned his second save. Taylor Scott picked up his first win, throwing three innings with just one hit against him. Maddox (0-1) was tagged with the blown save and the loss, surrendering four runs over three innings pitched. Tayler Scott (1-0) earned the win with three scoreless innings of relief for Myrtle Beach
The Red Sox will again host the Pelicans on Tuesday night at LewisGale Field with first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Daniel McGrath (0-1, 8.10) will pitch for Salem, opposed by Myrtle Beach’s Jen-Ho Tseng (1-0, 3.60). Fans unable to attend can listen to the game on 1240 AM WGMN ESPN Roanoke, on salemsox.com or via the TuneIn Radio app.
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