Wood Ducks Complete Comeback in Win Over Birds

KINSTON, NC - A game of big innings swayed to the Wood Ducks (6-4, 30-49) late in a remarkable comeback win 9-7 over the Pelicans (3-7, 46-34) on Sunday afternoon. Seven of ten hitters for the Woodies had multiple hits as they mashed 16 hits to tie a season-high.

The bullpen effort of Grant Zawadzki, Kelvin Vasquez, and Adam Choplick combined to only allow one run over their six innings of work. Down East starter Jonathan Hernández was pulled after three innings in his shortest start with the Wood Ducks.
For the second consecutive game, the Woodies scored first and early - Ledarious Clark had an RBI single to score Josh Altmann in the second inning. The Pelicans would respond in the third when Eddy Martinez had his fifth hit of the series to bring home Bryant Flete.
The fourth inning would spell trouble for Hernandez as the first five batters of the inning reached, plating three runs and chasing Hernandez. After another single and a double play, the score was 6-1 Myrtle Beach through four.
Clark provided another spark in his next at-bat in the fifth - a leadoff home run off the scoreboard in right-center. Down East would add one more in the inning on a productive groundout from Franklin Rollin to score Brallan Perez.
In the sixth, the Pelicans got to Vasquez in an RBI single from Trent Giambrone and pushed the lead to four runs at 7-3. They would pull their starter Adbert Alzolay after six and it opened the door for the Woodies. Kyle Miller entered to pitch for the Pelicans.
With the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, Luis La O laced a triple down the right field line to clear the bases and make it a one-run game. The next batter was Evan Van Hoosier and his double to left-center tied the game at seven apiece.
Down East would reload the bases with two outs for Brallan Perez - who started the inning with a single. He bounced a ball toward the middle that Flete knocked down but could not get Perez at first to take the lead 8-7.
Adam Choplick worked a scoreless eighth thanks in part to Chuck Moorman catching Bryant Flete stealing at third for the second out. In the same at-bat, Choplick would strikeout Eloy Jiménez to end the frame.
An insurance run was plated in the eighth on a La O single after fouling off six consecutive pitches. Choplick worked a 1-2-3 ninth to seal his second save of the season and the game for the Woodies, 9-7.
Game four of the series is the finale of the homestand and the 4th of July Fireworks Celebration. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with Thomas Hatch (3-6, 3.33) and Jeffrey Springs (1-7, 4.54) dueling for the Pelicans and Wood Ducks respectively.
You can listen to every pitch of the 2017 season live on Sports/Talk 960 The Bull or streamed live on the TuneIn Radio app.