Sports stats



CarL Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Pelicans Survive Series Opener with 7-6 Win over Columbia

June 22, 2021 - Carolina League (CarL)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


The Myrtle Beach Pelicans outlasted the Columbia Fireflies with a 7-6 win in the series opener on Tuesday night in a back-and-forth game. After dropping season-high six-straight games, the Pelicans have now won back-to-back contests and improve their record to 19-23. The Fireflies drop to 22-17 with the home defeat.

Pelicans' Jacob Wetzel (2-4, RBI, R) continued to spark the lineup with his third multi-hit performance in his last four games. Yohendrick Pinango (3-4, HR, RBI, 3 R) posted his third three-hit game of the season while also hitting his third homer. Matt Mervis (2-4, RBI 2 R) logged a solid game for the Birds as well.

Gabriel Jaramillo (2-1) earned his second win of the year with two innings in relief with one earned run, two walks, and two strikeouts. Adam Laskey started the game and went four innings with four runs allowed off four hits. Carlos Ocampo threw just over an inning en route to his second save of the year, striking out all four batters he faced.

The Fireflies were powered by two home runs from Omar Hernandez (1-3, HR, 2 RBI) and Juan Carlos Negret (1-4, HR, 2 RBI). Herard Gonzalez (3-5, 3B, R) was the only player for the home team with multiple hits.

Chase Wallace (0-1) would take the loss in relief going 1.2 innings with four earned runs off four hits. Starter Rylan Kaufman tossed five solid innings with three earned runs off five hits, no walks, and three strikeouts.

After a silent first inning, both the Fireflies and the Pelicans put up a pair of runs in the second. Myrtle Beach led it off with a trio of singles from Mervis, Wetzel, and Jonathan Sierra to load the bases with no outs. Mervis came home first on a wild pitch from Kaufman to give the Pelicans an early 1-0 lead. After Jordan Nwogu went down swinging, Ethan Hearn lifted a fly ball to center field for a sacrifice fly that scored Wetzel. Yeison Santana struck out to end the inning with the Birds up 2-0.

The Fireflies matched with two runs in their half. With one out, Tyler Tolbert drew a walk to get on base. Hernandez followed with a home run over the left-field wall to even the score 2-2.

The game was deadlocked again after three innings as both teams hit solo home runs to keep the contest tied. Pinango turned on one to right field for his third big fly of the season and the Pelicans took a 3-2 lead. In the bottom half, it was Negret driving a ball to right field for a solo shot and it was back to a tie game at three-all.

Columbia took advantage in the bottom half of the fourth. Tolbert singled on a liner to left and moved around the bases on a balk and a passed ball. After Hernandez walked and got to second on a wild pitch, Matthew Schmidt grounded to Santana at short where he turned and threw Hernandez out at third, allowing Tolbert to score. The Fireflies had a 4-3 lead after four frames.

One more run came across for the Fireflies as they added onto their lead in the fifth. Herard Gonzalez led off with a line drive to right field that Pinango dove for and came up short. As the ball trickled to the wall, Gonzalez reached third with a leadoff triple. He came home to score on a wild pitch from Gabriel Jaramillo to make it a 5-3 lead for Columbia.

The Pelicans changed the game in the sixth inning with a trio of runs. Wallace came on in relief and gave up a single to Pinango to start the inning off. Reynolds came up and reached first after barely contacting a ball that slowly rolled past the plate, with the catcher Hernandez making a late throw to second. With two runners on, Mervis belted a double to center field that scored Pinango and moved Reynolds to third with the score 5-4 in favor of the Fireflies. Wetzel followed with a groundout to the pitcher while Reynolds came home to tie the game. The Birds took a 6-5 lead off a wild pitch from Wallace to cap off the three-run inning.

An important insurance run came across for the Pelicans in the top half of the seventh. After Wallace retired the first two batters, Pinango collected his third hit with a single to left field. Reynolds hit him home with a ground ball to right field that was misplayed by Negret and allowed Reynolds to get to third with a triple. Myrtle Beach went up 7-5 heading into the stretch.

Columbia got one back in the bottom half after Jarod Wright replaced Jaramillo on the mound. Gonzalez led off with a single and got all the way to third after Pinango had trouble fielding it in right field. After Darryl Collins drew a walk, Negret flew a sacrifice fly to right field to score Gonzalez and get closer at 7-6. The Fireflies went on to load the bases but were stranded after Hernandez grounded to Reynolds at third to halt the rally.

Ocampo closed the door out of the bullpen by striking out all four Columbia hitters he faced to earn the save.

The Pelicans and Fireflies will meet tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. for game two of the series.

Check out the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Statistics



Carolina League Stories from June 22, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Myrtle Beach Pelicans Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central