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.
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