Myrtle Beach, SC - The RiverDogs squandered leads in the ninth, 10th and 11th innings and fell to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 13-12 in 11 innings on Sunday evening at Pelicans Ballpark.
The Pelicans took six of seven games from Charleston this week to win the season series 17 games to four. The RiverDogs fall to 62-56 overall and 27-25 in the second half with the loss.
For the first time in the series, the RiverDogs jumped on the board first in the top of the first. Brailer Guerrero doubled and moved to third on a Nathan Flewelling single. Connor Hujsak pushed in Guerrero on a sacrifice fly to deliver a 1-0 lead.
The Pelicans seized the lead with a five-run, five-hit rally in the bottom of the second. All five hits were singles, including four consecutive knocks with one out off ‘Dogs starter Ryan Andrade.
Charleston got one of those tallies back in the third. In nearly identical fashion to the first inning, Guerrero doubled, Flewelling singled and Hujsak popped a sac fly to trim the game to 5-2. In the fifth inning, Flewelling smoked a double off the wall in right center and then scored thanks to back-to-back wild pitches, cutting the deficit to 5-3.
After Myrtle Beach got that run back in the fifth, the RiverDogs tied the game by scoring three times without a hit in the sixth. Pelicans reliever Luis A Reyes issued four walks, including a bases loaded free pass to Felix Cotes. Charleston got within one on a run-scoring fielders’ choice and then knotted the game at six thanks to a Reyes wild pitch.
The deadlock was short-lived, as Alexey Lumpuy put the Pelicans back in front, 7-6, with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning, which began a chaotic homestretch of the contest.
With two outs in the seventh, the RiverDogs loaded the bases for Guerrero, who socked a two-RBI single through the right side to propel Charleston to an 8-7 lead.
That lead grew to 9-7 in the eighth, as Narciso Polanco brought in Hujsak on a sacrifice fly. The Pelicans erased that insurance run in the bottom of the frame via a Matt Halbach RBI single with two outs.
The lead remained just one run into the bottom of the ninth, when Bryce Shaffer was tabbed for the save. He surrendered back-to-back singles to open the frame. After a strikeout, Justin Stransky flared a game-tying single to left field. Schaffer recovered to leave the winning run on third base to force extras.
In the top of the 10th, Charleston pushed in their placed runner on a sacrifice fly from Tom Poole to open a 10-9 advantage. Myrtle Beach responded in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff, game-tying triple from Ty Southisene. Schaffer again buckled down – inducing a groundout to the mound, followed by an intentional walk that set up an inning-ending double play – sending the game to the 11th tied at 10.
Charleston pushed in two runs in the 11th – one on a run-scoring fielder’s choice from Guerrero and RBI single from Flewelling.
Dylan Lesko entered for the bottom of the 11th with a 12-10 lead. The righthander retired the first batter of the frame, then let up a single to put runners on the corners. Stransky popped a sacrifice fly to left field, trimming the lead to 12-11, but bringing the Pelicans to their final out.
The final out never came. Yahil Melendez walked on four pitches, Kane Kepley grounded a 3-2 pitch for a game-tying RBI single, Southisene walked to load the bases, and then a wild pitch allowed Melendez to score the winning run from third.
The contest featured a combined 33 hits – 20 for Myrtle Beach and 13 for Charleston – along with 18 walks.
The RiverDogs head home to Riley Park to begin their final homestand of 2025 on Tuesday night against the Augusta GreenJackets at 7:05 pm. Tickets are available at RiverDogs.com. For an upgraded experience, passes to the inclusive, air-conditioned Segra Club are available.