Myrtle Beach falls 9-3 in series opener at Salem

Pieters picks up two hits and an RBI in defeat

Chris Pieters recorded two hits and drove in a run on Friday at Salem. (Larry Kave/Myrtle Beach Pelicans)

By Scott Kornberg

April 27, 2018

SALEM, Va. (April 27, 2018) - The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were unable to overcome an early flurry of Salem runs Friday in the Red Sox's 9-3 victory at Haley Toyota Field.The game was scoreless in the third when Chris Madera led off with a base hit. Three batters later, Bobby

SALEM, Va. (April 27, 2018) - The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were unable to overcome an early flurry of Salem runs Friday in the Red Sox's 9-3 victory at Haley Toyota Field.
The game was scoreless in the third when Chris Madera led off with a base hit. Three batters later, Bobby Dalbec singled him in to get Salem (14-8) the contest's first run.

In the fourth, the Red Sox put together a two-out rally against Myrtle Beach (7-15) starter Bryan Hudson (2-2). With men on first and second and two down, Madera walked to load the bases. Santiago Espinal promptly cleared the bags with a triple before coming in to score on Brett Netzer's RBI single.
With the tally at 5-0, Jerry Downs walked and Kyri Washington singled to start the fifth. Ryan Scott cashed in Downs with an RBI double before an error plated Washington. Back-to-back sacrifice flies from Nick Sciortino and Madera pushed the lead to 9-0.
Salem starter Roniel Raudes was outstanding, ceding just two hits in six shutout innings. With the right-hander out of the game, Myrtle Beach was able to get to the Red Sox bullpen. Austin Upshaw walked against Salem reliever Jared Oliver, who promptly uncorked two wild pitches to advance Upshaw to third. Two batters later, Chris Pieters notched an RBI single to get the Birds on the board.
A Red Sox error scored a Pelicans run in the eighth. In the ninth, Andruw Monasterio doubled to begin the frame. He came around to score on Connor Myers ' RBI single with two outs to pull Myrtle Beach to within 9-3. The Pelicans could not get any closer, though, and their 15th loss in the month of April is their most in the season's opening month in recorded club history (since the 2005 season).
The Pelicans send RHP Alex Lange (0-0, 4.50 ERA) to the mound for Saturday's 6:05 p.m. contest against Salem RHP Jake Thompson (0-1, 4.43 ERA). Coverage starts at 5:50 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, TuneIn and the MiLB First Pitch app.
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. The park 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 as well. In June 2017, TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark won the 2017 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. The Pelicans have 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 emailing [email protected].