The Shadow
SALEM, Va. – The Salem RidgeYaks (27-44, 2-4) battled through a back-and-forth contest Thursday night with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (30-40, 3-3), but came up one run short, falling 5-4 at Carilion Clinic Field.
Despite collecting nine hits and erasing multiple deficits, the RidgeYaks couldn’t answer after the Pelicans pushed across the go-ahead run in the ninth inning. Myrtle Beach struck first in the top of the third when Alexis Hernandez lined an RBI single to right, scoring Jairo Diaz for a 1-0 lead.
The RidgeYaks answered immediately in the bottom half. Adonys Guzman tied the game with an RBI single to right that plated Skylar King, and two batters later Anderson Fermin delivered another run-scoring single to left, bringing home Guzman to give Salem its first lead at 2-1. Fermin was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double, ending the inning, but not before the RidgeYaks had taken a lead.
That lead was short-lived. Jairo Diaz evened the score at 2-2 with an RBI single in the fourth, but Salem responded again in the bottom of the inning. Ilan Fernandez grounded a single into center, scoring Justin Barry to restore the RidgeYaks’ advantage at 3-2.
The seesaw battle continued in the fifth. Logan Poteet’s RBI groundout tied the game before Michael Carico followed with an RBI single to put the Pelicans back in front, 4-3. Once again, the RidgeYaks had an answer. With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Guzman lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Avinson Pinto to score and knot the game at 4-4.
The game remained deadlocked into the ninth as Salem’s bullpen kept the Pelicans off the board after escaping several threats. Nicolas De La Cruz entered in the fifth and stranded inherited runners before Joey Gartrell worked the eighth and ninth.
Myrtle Beach finally broke through in the final frame when Hernandez lined his second extra-base hit of the night, a go-ahead RBI double to left that scored Alexey Lumpuy and proved to be the difference.
The RidgeYaks were unable to mount a response in the bottom of the ninth, dropping a tightly contested game.
Guzman led the Salem offense with a 1-for-2 night, driving in two runs with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly while also scoring once. King collected two hits and scored a run, while Barry, Fernandez, Fermin, Musett, and Sirvania each added a hit. Fernandez and Fermin each drove in a run as the RidgeYaks finished with nine hits.
On the mound, starter Cole Tolbert allowed one run over three solid innings before the bullpen kept Salem in the game. De La Cruz delivered 2.1 scoreless innings in relief, and Gartrell was charged with the loss after allowing the deciding run in the ninth.
The RidgeYaks and Pelicans continue the series on Friday night at will look to bounce back as the series continues Friday night at Carilion Clinic Field as Brady Tygart makes the start for the Yaks.
Game Notes:
- The RidgeYaks move to 6-16 in one-run games this season
- Luis Cohen made his first appearance since June 2 with Salem after being activated off the IL earlier on Thursday
- Andruw Musett went 1-for-3 to extend his on-base streak to 15-games since May 24
- That streak ties D’Angelo Ortiz’s 15-game streak (April 2-30) for the longest on-base streak by any RidgeYaks player this season
- Musett has now reached base safely in 18 of his 19 games this season with Salem
- Salem pitchers struck out 11 batters and have accumulated double digit punchouts for the ninth straight game and 11 of their last 12 contents
- Over the 20 games in June, Salem pitchers have struck out 228 hitters. Since June 1, that total is second in Single-A and third all of Minor League Baseball (Full Season)
- Adonys Guzman went 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs, in three games this series, Guzman is hitting to a .375 clip (3-for-8) with a team high five RBI
- Salem moves to 4-16 in June games (1-7 in June home games)
- Skylar King went 2-for-4 for the second consecutive night and now owns nine multi-hit games this season
- King is 5-for-12 (.417) through three games of the series so far
- Nicolas De La Cruz went 2.1 innings scoreless and hitless for the second consecutive outing for the southpaw
- Cole Tolbert tied his career high by hurling 50 pitches in the start
