Pelicans come back, just to lose at end

By: Matt Lincoln | SCNOW
Published: June 08, 2008

The night after clinching the Southern Division title, the Pelicans almost performed an even more amazing feat. Myrtle Beach erased a 7 run deficit to take a one run lead, only to blow it in the ninth and tenth. The Indians took down the Birds 10-9 in 10 innings.

Myrtle Beach had erased an 8-1 deficit on the strength of four home runs, and had taken a 9-8 lead to the ninth inning, but the Indians scratched a run across against Bryan Dumesnil prior to Romero's game-winner in the bottom of the tenth. The loss snaps an eight-game win streak for Myrtle Beach, who has won 14 of their last 16 ballgames.

The Pelicans got on the board first with a run in the first inning off of K-Tribe starter Jeanmar Gomez. Gomez drilled Cabrera with a pitch with one out, and Cabrera scored the game's first run as Mejia followed a batter later with a double off the wall in right field.

Pelicans' starter Chris Vines had trouble locating in the first inning however, and Kinston quickly ascended to a 3-1 lead. The trouble started when Vines walked Beau Mills with one out. Nick Weglarz followed a home run that snuck over the wall in right-center field to give the K-Tribe the lead, 2-1. Jared Goedert followed the blast with a double to continue the inning, and a batter later was scored by a Romero single.

Kinston broke the game open and chased Vines from the ballgame in the fourth inning. Five runs scored for the Tribe on two home runs off of Vines. Romero started the assault with a solo shot to right, and following more trouble for Vines, Mills clubbed a grand slam to right field to make it an 8-1 ballgame. The grand slam was the first given up by a Pelicans' hurler this season.

The Pelicans used the long ball to get back in the ballgame. Jon Mark Owings belted his eighth of the year, a two-run shot, off of Gomez in the fifth inning to make it 8-3. Brandon Hicks then went deep to right field off of reliever Sung Wei Tseng with two aboard to trim the advantage to two at 8-6.

The birds drew even with their third homer of the night in the eighth. Owings was aboard with two down, as Gorkys Hernandez stepped in and crushed a no-doubter to left field to even the slate, 8-8. Hernandez has three home runs this season, and all have been hit out to left field at Grainger Stadium.

Eric Campbell homered for a third consecutive ballgame as the Pelicans assumed the lead in the top of the ninth inning. Campbell's blast capped the scoring for Myrtle Beach off of Matt Rodrigues.

Luis Perdomo (3-1) earned the win for Kinston after tossing a perfect top of the tenth inning. Perdomo struck out two as he won for the third time.

The Pelicans used sixth hurlers on the evening, and the sixth, Michael Broadway (0-1) endured his first loss as a Pelican.