Myrtle Beach, SC – Despite early offense and another seven-inning performance from Blake Morgan, the Charleston RiverDogs fell to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 7-5 on Wednesday night at Pelicans Ballpark.
For the second straight night, the RiverDogs struck first, as Brady Marget lifted a sacrifice fly to right field in the top of the first inning. Marget finished with two RBIs, giving him 44 in 42 games with Charleston this season. The total ranks 10th across all of Minor League Baseball and second among Single-A hitters since he debuted with the RiverDogs on June 2.
The Pelicans responded quickly in the bottom of the first, tying the game on a Eli Lovich RBI single.
They later jumped out to a three-run lead after Ethan Conrad lined an RBI single and Lovich homered in the third.
In the top of the frouth, Andreimi Antunez belted a solo shot to left to cut the deficit to two runs. The longball earned him his first Single-A hit in the process and marked his eighth overall this year. He entered the night ranked as the Rays No. 20 prospect.
Charleston tallied another run in the top of the fifth when Cooper Flemming lined an RBI single to right to make it 4-3.
However, in the bottom of the seventh, Myrtle Beach broke the game open, surging for three more runs.
After a two-run Charleston rally in the top of the eighth, their comeback bid fell short as the Pelicans slammed the door in the ninth to earn the 7-5 win.
Despite providing length, Morgan finished the night allowing ten hits and a career-high seven runs.
With the loss, the RiverDogs fell to 55-43 and 18-14 in the second half, while Myrtle Beach moved to 39-57, and 12-20 in the second half.
The two return to the ballpark tomorrow for game three of the series. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. with coverage beginning at 6:50 on the RiverDogs Broadcast Network.