Pelicans use big comeback to ward off Warthogs

The Pelicans good luck seemed to be coming to an end. But thanks to one big inning, Myrtle Beach kept their momentum rolling to the All-Star Break. Myrtle Beach scored seven runs in the 8th inning to top Winston-Salem 10-7 Monday night at BB&T Coastal Field. The Birds have now won 11 of their last 12, and their magic number is 5 in the Carolina League South.

The Pelicans and the Warthogs traded runs in the first inning. The Warthogs grabbed the early lead on a leadoff home run by Paulo Orlando, his seventh of the year. The Pelicans responded with an RBI double to right-center field by Willie Cabrera that brought Brandon Hicks home from first.

In the fourth, the Pelicans and the Warthogs once again exchanged runs, this time two each. The Warthogs received back-to-back hits by Javier Colina and C.J. Retherford to start the inning. On a fielding error by Brandon Hicks, Colina was able to come in from third to score. Gregory Paiml then hit an RBI ground out to Ernesto Mejia that scored Retherford.

The Warthogs exploded for four runs in the seventh inning to build a 7-3 lead. After Pelicans reliever Gonzalo Lopez struck out Anderson Gomes, Gregory Paiml and Francisco Hernandez pieced together back-to-back doubles. Paiml came into score on the double by Hernandez. With two outs, Paulo Orlando hit a blooper to shallow right field that scored Hernandez. Salvador Sanchez followed with a line drive home run into Land Shark Landing to stretch the lead to 7-3.

Seemingly down and out, the Pelicans roared back in the bottom of the eighth inning. After Travis Jones popped out to first base, Flowers, Campbell and Rodriguez combined to load the bases for Jon Mark Owings. The Pelicans nine-hole hitter proceeded to crush his seventh home run of the season to tie the game at 7-7. The Pelicans added three more runs against reliever Ryan Rote, who delivered two run scoring wild pitches. The comeback is even more impressive when considering that the Pelicans were just 1-15 when trailing after seven full innings.

In the ninth, Brett Butts came on and retired the Warthogs in order to finish off the miraculous victory. Reliever Carlos Rivas earned his first win of the season, pitching a perfect eighth inning. Pelicans starter Chris Vines managed six innings, allowing four hits and three runs to earn a no decision. Although he didn’t factor into the decision, the Pelicans are now 10-1 when Vines pitches, including 5-0 in his starts.

The Pelicans will play game two against the Warthogs on Tuesday, June 3rd at 7:05 p.m. The Pelicans will send RHP Deunte Heath (7-2, 3.60) to the hill, while the Warthogs will counter with LHP Aaron Poreda (4-4, 3.08).