Myrtle Beach, SC - The RiverDogs used a big night from Brendan Summerhill and a late game comeback to force extras but couldn’t hang onto a 10th inning lead and fell 8-7 to Myrtle Beach in 11 innings on Wednesday night at Pelicans Ballpark.
The loss drops the RiverDogs 26-21 in the second half, 7.5 games behind the Pelicans for first place in the Carolina League South. Myrtle Beach has won six consecutive games in the season series.
For the second straight game, the RiverDogs were chasing early. The Pelicans snatched the lead in the bottom of the second on a two-run double from Jose Escobar. The hole grew to 3-0 thanks to a Christian Olivo sacrifice fly.
Charleston mounted a response in the top of the third with two outs. James Quinn-Irons tapped an RBI single to drive in Summerhill. A wild pitch followed, allowing Tom Poole to score from third base, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
With Quinn-Irons on third and Narciso Polanco on first after a walk, the ‘Dogs attempted to tie the game on a double steal, but Quinn-Irons was caught at the plate.
In the bottom of the third, RiverDogs starter Andres Galan struck out back-to-back batters, but then surrendered a single to Angel Cepeda, followed by a two-run homer by Dilan Granadillo that pushed the Pelicans’ lead to 5-2.
Galan finished his outing with a scoreless fourth inning but failed to complete five innings for just the second time in 13 appearances with the RiverDogs this season.
Charleston began climbing back in the top of the fifth. Summerhill and Nathan Flewelling walked and Poole reached on an infield single to load the bases. Another wild pitch brought in Summerhill to make it 5-3.
In the sixth, Summerhill lined an RBI single to send Ricardo Gonzalez home from third, cutting the deficit to one.
The ‘Dogs bullpen held things in place, as Mason Nichols and Jadon Bercovich both fired two shutout innings.
Charleston situated runners on second and third with one out in the top of the seventh, but back-to-back strikeouts thwarted the scoring opportunity.
Thanks to Summerhill, the ‘Dogs broke through in the top of the eighth. Gonzalez smoked a single that deflected off the pitcher and then stole second base, setting up a game-tying RBI double that bounced over the left field wall of the bat of Summerhill.
With the game tied at five, Charleston threatened to take the lead in the top of the ninth, as Flewelling ripped a double and Poole walked to start the inning. However, Pelicans reliever Ethan Bell retired the next three batters to preserve the deadlock.
Following a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth from Jonathan Russell, the RiverDogs took their first lead of the night in the 10th inning.
Summerhill continued his big night and roped a triple into the right center field gap to push in Yirer Garcia, delivering a 6-5 lead. A wild pitch followed, growing the lead to 7-5.
Summerhill, the Rays 42nd overall pick in the 2025 draft, finished the contest 3-4 with three RBIs and two walks.
Russell remained in the contest and retired the first two batters of the bottom of the 10th, bringing the RiverDogs within an out of a comeback win. The Pelicans had other plans. Cepeda rocked a double to right, scoring the placed runner Alexey Lumpuy, cutting the lead to 7-6. Granadillo promptly re-tied the game with an RBI single.
In the 11th, the RiverDogs failed to score, opening the door for Myrtle Beach in the bottom of the inning. With one out and runners on second and third, Ty Southisene ended the game with a ground ball to second base that drove in Escobar from third.
The RiverDogs stranded a season-high 14 runners on base in the defeat.
The series carries on Thursday night, with first pitch set for 7:05 pm.