CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Pelicans Sweep Dash in Doubleheader

Published on July 30, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


MYRTLE BEACH, SC - Myrtle Beach slugged its way to a doubleheader sweep of the Dash on Friday night, winning game one 9-6 and game two 11-1 at BB&T Coastal Field. The Pelicans scored five late runs in the first game to pull away from Winston-Salem, and then rode strong pitching and a fortuitous umpire's call in the nightcap.

In game one, Winston-Salem (17-17, 60-44) loaded the bases in the first inning, but only scored once on a groundout by Seth Loman. Josh Phegley, in his first game off the disabled list, bounced into a 3-2 double play to end the inning as Drew Garcia was thrown out at the plate by first baseman Mike Jones.

The Dash would regret the missed opportunity, as Myrtle Beach (17-18, 43-62) scored four times in the bottom of the first inning against Stephen Sauer. Cory Harrilchak, Jordan Kreke, and Matt Kennelly drove in the runs as the Pelicans sent eight men to the plate to take a 4-1 lead.

Winston chipped back into the contest with single runs in the second and fourth innings. Luis Sierra had an RBI groundout and Loman hit a titanic home run to right field to cut the Pelicans' lead to 4-3.

Myrtle re-established its three-run cushion in the fifth inning. Sauer (6-8) gave up back-to-back RBI hits to Gerry Rodriguez and Kennelly, pushing the Pelicans ahead 6-3.

Jones hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 9-3 Myrtle Beach. Those runs proved to be important, as the Dash plated three in the top of the seventh against Angelo Paulino. With the tying run in the on-deck circle, Chad Rodgers got Loman to ground out to second base to end the game. Rodgers picked up the save by retiring the only batter he faced.

Matt Crim (6-9) earned the win for the Pelicans, allowing three runs on seven hits in five innings. Sauer suffered the loss, allowing six runs on nine hits, also in five innings.

The second contest started much like the first. Brandon Short walked to start the ballgame and scored on a bloop single to left by Loman.

Winston-Salem's lead did not last long, as the Pelicans staged a two-out rally against Dash starter Terry Doyle. With Kreke at second base and two down, Luis Sumoza hit an RBI double to left-center field, tying the game at one. Samuel Sime followed with a two-run home run to left to give Myrtle a 3-1 lead.

A debatable call by base umpire Gus Curtis allowed three more Pelicans to score in the fourth inning. With a man at first base and one out, Sime grounded a ball to third base. Jon Gilmore threw to second for the first out, and the throw to first appeared to beat Sime, who was called safe by Curtis. Several Dash players argued, and manager Joe McEwing came out of the dugout to share his displeasure with the call. After arguing for about 30 seconds, McEwing started walking back to his dugout, but turned around to shout one more pleasantry at the umpire, causing Curtis to eject the Dash manager.

When play resumed, Doyle walked Braeden Schlehuber and gave up a two-run triple to Cole Miles. Mike Richard's throw to third base skipped past Gilmore, allowing Miles to score on the error and make it 6-1 Pelicans. Winston first baseman Kyle Shelton, presumably still upset with the earlier call at first base, was then ejected for saying something to Curtis. That brought out acting manager and hitting coach Rob Sasser to ask why his player was tossed. After a minute of what appeared to be a calm discussion, the mild-mannered Sasser was ejected by a trigger-happy Gus Curtis. Pitching coach Bobby Thigpen was the acting manager for the remainder of the game.

Myrtle Beach scored five times in the sixth inning off Leroy Hunt to blow the game open and went on to the 11-1 win.

Hoover (9-5) allowed just one run on three hits for the win. Doyle (5-7) took the loss after giving up six runs (five earned) on five hits in five innings.

Winston-Salem has now lost five straight games in Myrtle Beach and has dropped eight of its 16 meetings this season with the Pelicans, the team with the worst record in the Carolina League.

The series concludes on Saturday night when RHP Dylan Axelrod (5-2, 2.56) opposes RHP Cory Rasmus (0-1, 5.40) in a 7:05 p.m. start. The audio broadcast begins at 6:45 on www.wsdash.com.

Fans may purchase tickets for every Dash game this season by calling the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visiting www.wsdash.com.

Check out the Winston-Salem Dash Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from July 30, 2010


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