Astros' late comeback downs Pelicans

LILLINGTON, N.C. (July 4, 2018) - The Buies Creek Astros scored one in the eighth and three in the ninth to erase a 3-0 deficit against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on Wednesday night to win 4-3 from Jim Perry Stadium. 
In the eighth inning with the Birds (39-45, 5-9) leading 3-0, the Astros (47-36, 10-4) snapped a scoreless streak of 27 innings for Pelicans' pitching with an RBI single from Ronnie Dawson to make it 3-1 Myrtle Beach. With runners on the corners and two outs, Dawson was picked off by Casey Bloomquist (2-2) to end the threat and preserve the lead. 

Osvaldo Duarte began the ninth inning with a walk to start a stretch of four straight batters that reached, capped by a bases-loaded walk from Orlando Marquez, to make it 3-2. A sacrifice fly by Jacob Meyers tied the game before Corey Julks ripped a walk-off single that scored pinch-runner Cody Bohanek.
The Pelicans struck first in the top of the second inning when Austin Upshaw ripped an RBI single through the right side of the infield, scoring P.J. Higgins . 
In the fourth, the Birds tacked on with an RBI single from Higgins to make it 2-0. 
After D.J. Wilson walked in the eighth inning, he was balked to second. On a strikeout in the dirt, Wilson agressively advanced to third and then scored on an Andruw Monasterio RBI ground out to make it 3-0 Myrtle Beach. 
Gabriel Valdez (4-3) earned the win with two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. 
The Pelicans continue their five-game series at Buies Creek with Thursday's 6 p.m. contest. RHP Cory Abbott (1-3, 4.74 ERA) starts against Buies Creek LHP Patrick Sandoval (0-0, 0.00). Coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn. 
The 2018 season is the 20th season for the Pelicans franchise and fourth as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For tickets visit MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/tickets, call (843) 918-6000, or visit the Pelicans Box Office.
ABOUT THE PELICANS: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and play their home games at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Since being acquired by a group led by Chuck Greenberg during the 2006 season, the Pelicans have repeatedly set team attendance records and become known as one of Minor League Baseball's most innovative and creative franchises. The team and its employees have been dedicated to making a difference in the Myrtle Beach community, specifically giving back over $2 million in donations, fundraising proceeds, in-kind services and community service since launching the Pelicans Play It Forward Community Initiative in 2013. TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark has ranked in the top eight in all of Minor League Baseball by Stadium Journey in six of the last seven seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences and the best in the Carolina League for six of the past seven seasons. In June 2017, the Pelicans won the 2017 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. On the field, the team has won four Mills Cup Championships, including claims to back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000, and again in 2015 and 2016. The Pelicans have made 11 postseason appearances behind 13 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season, second half of 2016 and first half of 2017. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or email [email protected].