Hickory, NC- The Crawdads plated two runs in the tenth inning to beat the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 4-3 on Saturday night at LP Frans Stadium.
The Crawdads were looking for their 20th win in the second-half of the season, as their six game winning streak was snapped in the first game of last night's doubleheader against the Pelicans.
The Pelicans took an early 1-0 lead in the first on a sacrifice fly from Eli Lovich that scored Alexey Lumpuy.
The Crawdads responded immediately in the bottom half, as Paulino Santana singled, scoring Jay McQueen to even the contest at 1-1.
In the third, Lumpuy lifted a solo homer to right-center field, retaking the lead for the Pelicans at 2-1.
Eli Lovich made a bid to extend the lead for Myrtle Beach later in the frame, lifting a fly ball over the wall in left-center field.
Paulino Santana, however, had other plans!
Santana, who had a four-hit night for the 'Dads, scaled the wall to secure the baseball, robbing Lovich of his ninth dinger of the year.
In the fifth inning, Yolfran Castillo launched his fifth home run of the year to deadlock the game at 2-2.
Jesus Lafalaise was the star on the mound for Hickory (54-37, 20-7), as the right-hander pitched 4.2 innings in relief, surrendering two hits and striking out nine Pelicans' batters.
The clubs would push the 2-2 stalemate into extras for the second time this week, as Wily Villar was brought on to give Hickory a chance to claim their first win in extras this year.
In the tenth, Myrtle Beach scored a run on a sacrifice fly from Alexis Hernandez to take a 3-2 advantage.
Edwardo Melendez was back on the hill for Myrtle Beach, working toward his third scoreless inning of work, seeking his fifth win of 2026.
The Crawdads, with inherited runner Yolfran Castillo at second, got a walk from Jay McQueen to open the frame. On the pitch, the ball got away from catcher Jose Silva, allowing Castillo to advance to third.
Marco Argudin followed up with a double over the first base bag, scoring Castillo and advancing McQueen to third.
McQueen came out of the game after a visit from the athletic trainer at third base, bringing in Curley Martha to run. Pablo Guerrero stepped to the plate with a chance to send 2,791 fans home happy on Saturday night.
Guerrero hit a grounder up the middle that was fielded by Fernando Cruz with a diving stop, throwing Guerrero out at first.
However, Argudin, hung up between second and third, sprinted back to the second base bag, drawing a throw from first baseman Edward Vargas.
As the throw went to second, Martha made a run for home, beating the high return throw from shortstop Alexis Hernandez to win it for the Crawdads, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Villar (4-3) picked up the win for Hickory, as the Crawdads have now won eight of their last nine results.
Melendez (4-3) absorbed the loss for Myrtle Beach (37-55, 10-18), as the Pelicans have dropped seven of their last eight games.
The series wraps up tomorrow with a 1pm doubleheader as the Crawdads look to claim their second straight series against the Pelicans
Hickory, NC- The Crawdads plated two runs in the tenth inning to beat the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 4-3 on Saturday night at LP Frans Stadium.
The Crawdads were looking for their 20th win in the second-half of the season, as their six game winning streak was snapped in the first game of last night's doubleheader against the Pelicans.
The Pelicans took an early 1-0 lead in the first on a sacrifice fly from Eli Lovich that scored Alexey Lumpuy.
The Crawdads responded immediately in the bottom half, as Paulino Santana singled, scoring Jay McQueen to even the contest at 1-1.
In the third, Lumpuy lifted a solo homer to right-center field, retaking the lead for the Pelicans at 2-1.
Eli Lovich made a bid to extend the lead for Myrtle Beach later in the frame, lifting a fly ball over the wall in left-center field.
Paulino Santana, however, had other plans!
Santana, who had a four-hit night for the 'Dads, scaled the wall to secure the baseball, robbing Lovich of his ninth dinger of the year.
In the fifth inning, Yolfran Castillo launched his fifth home run of the year to deadlock the game at 2-2.
Jesus Lafalaise was the star on the mound for Hickory (54-37, 20-7), as the right-hander pitched 4.2 innings in relief, surrendering two hits and striking out nine Pelicans' batters.
The clubs would push the 2-2 stalemate into extras for the second time this week, as Wily Villar was brought on to give Hickory a chance to claim their first win in extras this year.
In the tenth, Myrtle Beach scored a run on a sacrifice fly from Alexis Hernandez to take a 3-2 advantage.
Edwardo Melendez was back on the hill for Myrtle Beach, working toward his third scoreless inning of work, seeking his fifth win of 2026.
The Crawdads, with inherited runner Yolfran Castillo at second, got a walk from Jay McQueen to open the frame. On the pitch, the ball got away from catcher Jose Silva, allowing Castillo to advance to third.
Marco Argudin followed up with a double over the first base bag, scoring Castillo and advancing McQueen to third.
McQueen came out of the game after a visit from the athletic trainer at third base, bringing in Curley Martha to run. Pablo Guerrero stepped to the plate with a chance to send 2,791 fans home happy on Saturday night.
Guerrero hit a grounder up the middle that was fielded by Fernando Cruz with a diving stop, throwing Guerrero out at first.
However, Argudin, hung up between second and third, sprinted back to the second base bag, drawing a throw from first baseman Edward Vargas.
As the throw went to second, Martha made a run for home, beating the high return throw from shortstop Alexis Hernandez to win it for the Crawdads, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Villar (4-3) picked up the win for Hickory, as the Crawdads have now won eight of their last nine results.
Melendez (4-3) absorbed the loss for Myrtle Beach (37-55, 10-18), as the Pelicans have dropped seven of their last eight games.
The series wraps up tomorrow with a 1pm doubleheader as the Crawdads look to claim their second straight series against the Pelicans