MYRTLE BEACH S.C. – It was a classic battle between two top prospects on the hill in Salem, Virginia on Thursday night as Pelicans southpaw Matt Harrison dueled Avalanche righty Chad Reineke. Both hurlers did everything they could to help their respective teams win the series finale, but in the end it was Reineke and the Salem Avalanche (12-15) who celebrated a 3-1 victory over the Pelicans (16-12). Harrison recorded his second eight inning performance of the season, the longest by a Pelicans pitcher, but one swing of the bat overshadowed the outstanding complete game. Salem 2B Drew Sutton lined a home run a few inches inside the left field foul pole, a two-run shot, in the bottom of the 7th to give Salem a lead they would not relinquish.
In a game where runs were at a premium the Pelicans struck first in the top of the 5th inning. With one out 1B Greg Creek drew a walk and moved to second on a bloop single to left from CF Onil Joseph. The next batter, LF Carl Loadenthal, then delivered a scorching hot grounder up the middle, scoring Creek from second to give the Birds a 1-0 edge.
The Pelicans lead didn’t last long as the Avalanche tied things up in the bottom of the 5th inning thanks to back-to-back doubles from LF Matt Cunningham, and SS Edwin Maysonet. Maysonet’s two-bagger brought Cunningham across with the equalizer, making the score 1-1.
Two innings later the Avs took the lead for good when Sutton connected for the back-breaking two-run home run, which put Salem on top 3-1.
Harrison’s (L, 3-2) eight inning complete game was just the second complete game of the year in the Carolina League. The southpaw allowed three runs on eight hits, walked nobody, and fanned two in the tough luck loss. Reineke (W, 3-2) slung seven innings and gave up just one run on three hits and he walked five in the victory. Reineke added to his Carolina League leading strikeout total (37) by punching out six Pelicans. Closer Jeff Wigdahl (S, 1) earned his first save after tossing a scoreless 9th.
Myrtle Beach had a number of scoring opportunities, but stranded eight runners in scoring position. On Wednesday night the Pelicans clutch hitting helped them score six runs with two outs. Tonight the clutch hit eluded them as they left the bases loaded on two separate occasions. The Pelicans were paced at the plate by LF Brandon Jones who doubled twice in a 2-4 effort. CF Onil Joseph continued his hot hitting and finished the four-game series 7-15 from the dish thanks to a 2-3 night. Joseph has hit safely in five straight games after starting the season 0-12.
The Pelicans will head to Lynchburg to start a three-game series against the Hillcats on Friday night. In game one the Pelicans send RHP Charlie Morton to the mound to square off against Lynchburg RHP Wardell Starling. Game time is set for 7:00 pm. Fans can listen to the action on ESPN Radio 93.9 FM, 93.7 FM, and 1050 AM “The Team”.
