Pelicans Sweep Saturday’s Doubleheader over GreenJackets

By Sam Weiderhaft

After not playing on Thursday and Friday, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans didn’t skip a beat with a 2-0 win in game one and a 9-1 victory in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader over the Augusta GreenJackets. The Pelicans have won four games in a row and stand at 42-52 and 13-15 in the second half. The GreenJackets’ losing streak slipped to seven games and their record dropped to 36-56 and 9-18 in the second half.

Game One: Back-to-back home runs from Alfonsin Rosario (1-3, HR, RBI) and Andy Garriola (1-2, HR, RBI, BB) in the fourth inning was all the Pelicans needed in a 2-0 victory. It was the seventh shutout win for the Pelicans this year.

Starter Juan Bello (2-3) took the win with five shutout innings and five strikeouts. Yenrri Rojas closed out the final two innings for the save.

The GreenJackets outhit the Pelicans 6-5 but left six runners on base. Harry Owen (2-3) posted the only multi-hit game for the lineup.

Augusta starter JR Ritchie (1-1) was clean through three innings but sacrificed the back-to-back homers to take the loss.

Game Two: Off a five-run first inning, the Pelicans propelled to a 9-1 win in the back end of Saturday’s doubleheader. Andy Garriola (3-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI) drove in four runs and tallied three hits with two doubles. In his second game as a Pelican, Eriandys Ramon (2-3, 3B, RBI, BB) hit a triple and logged a multi-hit game. Cristian Hernandez (2-4, 2 2B, RBI) also provided a pair of doubles in the win.

After starter Tyler Schlaffer allowed just one earned run through four innings, Luis Rujano (2-3) followed with two shutout innings with no hits allowed and two walks. Jeral Vizcaino closed out the final inning.

Augusta’s John Gil (2-3, 3B) led the lineup with a multi-hit game including a triple. Will Verdung (1-3, 2B) hit a double for the other extra-base hit. The GreenJackets went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

GreenJackets’ starter Davis Polo (1-8) sacrificed six earned runs through two innings off seven hits to take the loss. The bullpen went on to allow three more earned runs in the final four innings.

The series concludes on Sunday evening at 6:35 p.m.