MYRTLE BEACH, SC: A gut-wrenching weekend in Myrtle Beach came to a painful close Sunday night, as the Pelicans used an eleven-run seventh inning to secure a 14-2 win over Augusta and pick up the series sweep.
The Pelicans drew blood in the bottom of the first against Owen Hackman, starting the night with a Ty Southisene hit by pitch before a blooper and groundout put the Birds in front.
Myrtle would tack on two more in the 3rd, using an RBI double from Southisene and a Jose Escobar sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead.
Hackman would work six innings with no more runs, and was saddled with the loss despite tossing his 4th quality start of the year.
Augusta’s lone piece of offense came in the top of the 6th, manufacturing a pair of tallies against Luis Reyes to cut the deficit to a run.
Eric Hartman led off the inning with a walk, and came home one pitch later on a comedy of errors. Hartman stole second, but the throw went into center, so he dashed to third.
Alexey Lumpuy came up throwing in the outfield but overthrew his man, and the ball hopped into the dugout for a run.
With two on and two out, 18-year-old Juan Mateo beat out an infield single to score a man and pick up his first Single-A hit.
Another walk would load the bases, but Landon Ginn came from the bullpen and punched out Douglas Glod to end the threat.
The wheels came off in the 7th, as Hackman departed and was replaced by Samuel Mejia. Mejia, Jackson Dannelley, and Seth Keller all threw in the inning, but the frame was a catastrophe on all sides.
The Pelicans collected eleven runs on five hits, five walks, three hit by pitches, three passed balls, two wild pitches, and an error, sending 17 men to the plate in total.
There would be no overcoming the onslaught in the 7th, which was good for the most runs scored in a single inning by any team in the Carolina League this year.
The loss secured Augusta’s first sweep against this year, dropping all three games in their final trip to Myrtle Beach of 2025.
Augusta is off Monday, July 21, and will look to reset on Tuesday against the Hickory Crawdads at LP Frans Stadium. Augusta will return home the following week, to begin a season-long twelve game homestand at SRP Park.
