Myrtle Beach 5, Winston-Salem 2
W: Jonathan Martinez (3-1)
L: Brandon Brennan (0-2)
S: Jose Rosario (3)
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (May 10, 2016) – Adam Engel and Hunter Jones combined for five hits at the top of the order, but Winston-Salem could not overcome a three-run Myrtle Beach third inning in the Pelicans’ 5-2 victory in Tuesday’s series opener at TicketReturn.Com Field.
Dash starter Brandon Brennan (0-2) stranded three in the first two innings, but Myrtle Beach (16-14) was able to break a scoreless tie in the third. Gleyber Torres reached on a one-out single and stole second base before Ian Happ singled him home. Happ scored later in the frame on a Jason Vosler single.
The Pelicans capped their scoring thanks to an infield single from Daniel Lockhart on a bang-bang play at first, which led to Vosler scoring from second base. Brennan argued the call with base umpire Chris Marco, who ejected the Dash’s right-hander.
From there, Myrtle Beach led by at least three runs throughout the rest of the contest. The Birds added an unearned run in the fourth before Winston-Salem (11-21) pushed across its first tally in the fifth. Engel laced a double past Vosler at third, and Jones drove him in with a single.
Two innings later, Vosler struck again with a run-scoring triple, propelling the Pelicans back in front by four. This was the only earned run that the Dash’s bullpen trio of Manny Martinez, Danny Dopico and Euclides Leyer permitted. Martinez gave up the Birds’ unearned run in the fourth over his 2.1 innings. Dopico blanked Myrtle Beach in the sixth before giving up the Vosler RBI triple in the seventh, while Leyer worked around a leadoff single in a scoreless eighth.
Winston-Salem did make it interesting in the ninth by loading the bases with two down. Representing the tying run, Marcus Davis rocketed a single to left to score Engel. However, Gerson Montilla strayed off third base on the play, and a backdoor throw nabbed him as he tried to recoil to end the game.
The Dash had won seven of their last nine road games before Tuesday’s defeat at the hands of the Pelicans, who have claimed five straight in the season series. Winston-Salem’s last 14 meetings with Myrtle Beach have been decided by three runs or less.
The middle match of this three-game set takes place at 7:05 p.m. on Wednesday from TicketReturn.Com Field. Winston-Salem sends Carolina League strikeout leader Matt Cooper (1-2, 3.71 ERA) to the bump against fellow right-hander Zach Hedges (3-2, 1.69 ERA). Pregame coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on wsdash.com/broadcast and the TuneIn Radio App. The game will also be streamed live on MiLB.tv through Myrtle Beach’s home feed.
The Dash return to BB&T Ballpark this weekend, and the fun begins with a Fireworks Friday, presented by Goodwill of Northwest North Carolina. The four-game series against Potomac runs through Monday and features many great promotions. For full details or to purchase your tickets, call (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.
