Winston-Salem 4, Myrtle Beach 2

W: Nolan Sanburn (1-0)
L: James Pugliese (0-1)
S: None

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (April 13, 2016) – After a 1-4 start to this road trip, the Dash finished their week-long journey before the home opener in style. One night after a one-run victory over Myrtle Beach, Winston-Salem plated a pair in the ninth to claim the rubber match against the Pelicans 4-2 on Wednesday at TicketReturn.Com Field.

With the game even at 2-2 through eight, the Dash (3-4) mustered a rally against James Pugliese (0-1). Gerson Montilla and Nick Basto strung together consecutive singles with one out for Marcus Davis, who brought both home with a triple that snuck inside the line at first base and bounced all the way into the corner.

From there, Nolan Sanburn (1-0) took care of the Pelicans (3-4) in the bottom of the ninth by retiring the side in order. Sanburn was a big reason why Winston-Salem was still even with the Birds through eighth innings.

In the seventh, he inherited a bases-loaded, one-out situation. Manny Martinez walked three straight after retiring the first four he faced. Sanburn escaped the threat by punching out both Shawon Dunston, Jr. and Ian Happ.

Sanburn had to navigate around a self-induced jam in the eighth, during which Myrtle Beach moved runners to second and third with one out. However, Sanburn whiffed Gioskar Amaya and forced Daniel Lockhart to ground out to set up Davis’ offensive heroics.

Through three outings, Sanburn has scattered four hits in 7.2 innings, during which he has collected 11 strikeouts. Five of those strikeouts came during his outstanding effort Wednesday.

For the sixth time in seven tries this season, Winston-Salem struck first offensively. The Dash tagged Myrtle Beach starter Jonathan Martinez for two runs in the first. Hunter Jones and Louie Lechich kicked the contest off with a single and double, respectively. Montilla’s RBI single brought home the first run, while Lechich scored on a double play off the bat of Basto.

Martinez had only permitted two runs in his previous 36 innings dating back to last season. He did reclaim that form over the next six innings, limiting the Dash to just a pair of hits after the first.

Thanks to run-scoring singles from Ian Happ and Jason Vosler, Myrtle Beach deadlocked the contest in the third against Matt Cooper. Otherwise, Cooper was strong in his second professional start, working five innings and striking out six.

The seventh season at BB&T Ballpark begins Thursday at 7 p.m. when the Dash entertain the Salem Red Sox, who also enter at 3-4. Winston will send Thad Lowry (0-1, 4.15 ERA) to the hill against fellow right-hander Travis Lakins (0-1, 7.36 ERA). Fans can catch the game on My 48 TV in Winston-Salem, with coverage starting right at 7 p.m. The game will also be broadcast live on 600 AM-WSJS, wsjs.com and the TuneIn App, with the Pregame Dash at 6:45 p.m.

The first homestand of the 2016 season features seven games of family-friendly entertainment. The lid-lifter is a Thirsty Thursday, presented by Lowes Foods, with select beers just $1 through the seventh inning. The first postgame fireworks show of the season follows on Friday, while a slew of promotions will take place Saturday. A full breakdown of the fun on Opening Weekend is available here. Tickets are still available by calling (336) 714-2287 or clicking here.