From the Augusta GreenJackets
MYRTLE BEACH, S,C. — Nothing new in Game 3 between the GreenJackets and Pelicans as pitching once more was the main story, especially with Augusta starter Royber Salinas. But despite a dominant outing from the GreenJackets’ opening day starter, Myrtle Beach rallied from 2-0 down to walk-off Augusta for the second time in the series with an RBI single from Ethan Hearn in the ninth inning.
With runs tough to come by in the two previous games, it took all but two pitches for the first run to be scored on Thursday as Caleb Durbin hit a leadoff homerun over the left-field wall to begin the game, the first ball to leave the yard in the series for either team.
Durbin would continue to play the role of run producer as he manufactured another run in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly that scored Braulio Vasquez to make it 2-0 Augusta.
That lead was in great hands with GreenJackets’ starting pitcher Royber Salinas, who faced the minimum amount of batters in five innings of work, as he was nearly untouchable. The 20-year-old from Venezuela struck out a new career-high 13 batter, breaking his previous high from six days ago in Columbia. The most impressive part, however, was the run of nine consecutive Pelican hitter Salinas struck out, stretching from the third inning through the fifth. Salinas allowed just one baserunner in Pete
Crow Armstrong who doubled to begin the game but was thrown out trying to stretch that double into a triple.
The GreenJackets had a major opportunity to add on in the sixth when they loaded the bases with nobody out, but Jose Miguel Gonzalez for Myrtle Beach would escape trouble with back-to-back strikeouts and a ground out to end the inning.
The Pelicans would take advantage and tie the game in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run double by Liam Spence off reliever Peyton Williams.
The game would be deadlocked at two from there all the way until the ninth inning. The GreenJackets failed to score in their half of the frame. Myrtle Beach would load the bases with one out, Ben Thompson entered from the bullpen and inherited the situation and started it off by striking out Reginald Preciado for the second out. But then it was Ethan Hearn who rolled a single up the middle into centerfield to walk it off for the Pelicans.
It’s the second time Myrtle Beach has walked off Augusta in the series, and all three losses for the GreenJackets have ended in a walk off where they never trailed at any other point in the game.
Game 4 of the series is Friday night at 7:05 as the GreenJackets would look even the series again with AJ Smith-Shawver taking the mound against Luke Little for the Pelicans
