Pelicans Walk Off With Doubleheader Sweep
August 1, 2009 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - When the exhaustion and frustration of 16 innings of baseball were at their highest and the clock had long since passed midnight, Pelicans veteran shortstop Robert Marcial shined his brightest.
Marcial cranked a three-run walkoff homer into the Land Shark Landing bleachers in the bottom of the ninth inning in game two of a Friday night doubleheader to give the Pelicans a 3-0 victory and a sweep of the twinbill over the Kinston Indians. Myrtle Beach earned a 6-2 victory in game one, playing the double-dip in front of 5,451 at BB&T Coastal Field, many of whom stayed until nearly one in the morning to witness the walkoff jack, the Pelicans' first of the year.
All the dramatics waited until the end. Zeroes peppered the scoreboard in the nightcap until the Pelicans rallied in the bottom of the ninth of what was scheduled to be the second seven-inning game of July's final day. Gerry Rodriguez reached to open the frame on catcher's interference charged to Kinston's Doug Pickens. Two outs later, with a base open, Kinston elected to intentionally walk a red-hot Chris Shehan to pitch to Marcial. The choice ended in disaster. Marcial crushed the first pitch he saw from Indians reliever David Roberts (0-3) for his third, and unquestionably biggest, homer of the year. The Reseda, California native leapt into the air while rounding first base as the ball cleared the left field wall and was mobbed at the plate by his jubilant teammates. Tommy Palica (5-1) earned the win with two and a third innings of scoreless relief.
In the opener, the Pelicans wasted no time after watching starter Erik Cordier wriggle out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first inning. Myrtle Beach got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the first with Michael Fisher and Donell Linares reaching on a single and a double respectively and both scoring on a Rodriguez two-run single. In the second, Shehan doubled leading off the second and later scored on Cole Miles's RBI single. The Pelicans lengthened their lead to 5-0 in support of Cordier with a pair of runs in the fourth. After Kinston got its only runs with a two-run Tim Fedroff homer in the top of the fifth, Shehan rocketed a solo shot to Land Shark Landing to put the game away. Cordier (5-4) worked five innings and allowed two runs on five hits for the win. The K-Tribe loaded the bases in the ninth, but Cory Gearrin (S, 11) got the final out on one pitch to earn the save. Eric Berger (7-8) took the loss, allowing a season high-tying five runs over four innings.
Games three and four of this four-game series are tomorrow and Sunday evening at BB&T Coastal Field. Lefty Richard Sullivan (2-8, 4.12) gets the start for the Pelicans tomorrow night against Kinston right-hander Alexander Perez (1-2, 3.09). Tickets for all Pelicans home games are available at the BB&T Coastal Field box office, by calling (843)918-6000 or by visiting the Tickets page at MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.
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Carolina League Stories from August 1, 2009
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- Wilmington Center Fielder Lifts Blue Crew to Eighth Straight Win - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Myrtle Beach blanked night after doubleheader sweep - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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- K-Tribe Blanks Myrtle Beach 7-0 - Kinston Indians
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- Five Costly Errors Send Frederick to 6-2 Loss - Frederick Keys
- P-Nats Game Notes for August 1 - Potomac Nationals
- Blue Rocks Game Notes for August 1 - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Hillcats Game Notes for August 1 - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Pelicans Game Notes for August 1 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Red Sox Game Notes for August 1 - Salem Red Sox
- K-Tribe Game Notes for August 1 - Kinston Indians
- Pelicans Walk Off With Doubleheader Sweep - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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