Winston-Salem Dash walk way past Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Every winter, BB&T Coastal Field serves as the start/finish line for the Myrtle Beach Marathon.

On Saturday night, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans decided to host a walkathon.

Despite limiting the Dash to only five hits and striking out nine batters, four Pelicans pitchers combined to walk nine batters to seal the team's fate in a 6-1 loss to Winston-Salem.

Four of those free passes were issued in the critical second inning, when the Dash scored three runs on only one hit. Myrtle Beach starter Miguel De Los Santos lasted only 12/3 innings in a short start that typified his up-and-down season.

After striking out three of the first four batters he faced, De Los Santos gave up a single and three straight walks to force in the game's first run. De Los Santos (2-3) got his fourth strikeout, but then walked in another run in and was pulled from the game.

Left-handed reliever Kasey Kiker took the mound and promptly walked the first batter he faced to put the Pelicans in a 3-0 hole. Kiker got himself out of the jam with a pop up, but the damage had already been done.

The strike zone was a point of contention throughout the night, especially in the third when Myrtle Beach's Jared Bolden struck out with a runner in scoring position. Pelicans manager Jason Wood was ejected for arguing the pitch, the first time he's gotten the hook in his managerial career, and the Pelicans went three straight innings without a hit.

The Pelicans' pitchers continued to miss the mark, walking the leadoff men in both fifth and sixth innings and paying the price on the scoreboard. After Tyler Saladino walked to start the fifth and Mike Blanke walked to open the sixth, both scored on sacrifice flys as the Dash built a 6-0 lead with only three hits to show for it. Kiker walked three Dash batters and reliever Trevor Hurley walked two.

The Pelicans finally got their bats going in the seventh with Jared Prince hitting a leadoff double and Zach Zaneski driving him in with a single up the middle, but it was too little too late. The Pelicans outhit the Dash 6-5 but were on the short side of the scoreboard.

The Pelicans will try to avoid a series sweep to the Dash tonight at 6.

Notes

Former Pelicans pitcher Joe Wieland, who was called up to Double-A Frisco last month, had a career night Friday by pitching a nine-inning no-hitter against the San Antonio Missions. Wieland faced the minimum 27 batters in the 3-0 victory, striking out seven and losing a perfect game with a fourth-inning walk, which was later erased on an unsuccessful steal attempt. Wieland improved to 4-0 since the promotion, lowering his ERA to 1.23. ... Wieland's no-no helped his former team in the race for the best home record in baseball. The Missions fell to 39-12 in San Antonio, still beating out the Milwaukee Brewers (37-14) at Miller Park and the Pelicans (36-15) at BB&T Coastal Field entering Saturday's games.