Pelicans survive near washout to force Game 3 in playoffs against Dash

For the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, it was do-or-die Thursday night.

And after a two hour and 45 minute rain delay, the club is still alive.

The Pelicans offense got some clutch hits early, starter Brad Markey turned in a brilliant performance and Myrtle Beach held on for a 4-3 victory over Winston-Salem in Game 2 of the Carolina League southern division championship series at TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark.

“What a long day. You can’t say enough about Markey, who just went out there and absolutely competed his butt off,” Johnson said. “It’s do-or-die and the guys stepped up and came out swinging the bats well. We got some runs on the board and had a couple of clutch two-out hits and the rest is history.”

With the Pelicans leading 4-1 in the top of the ninth, Myrtle Beach reliever Michael Heesch loaded the bases with nobody out before the game was delayed.

When the game resumed, Pelicans reliever David Berg took the mound and forced Trey Michalczewski to ground out, but Adam Engel scored and Keon Barnum had an RBI groundout to cut Winston-Salem’s deficit to 4-3.

Then, Berg struck out Nick Basto to earn a save, end the contest and force a winner-take-all Game 3.

“Unfortunate for [Heesch] to come in and not throw strikes but Berg picked him up after that two and a half hour rain delay,” Johnson said.

Meanwhile, Markey had a no-hitter going until Barnum hit a double in the eighth inning. Markey struck out eight and allowed just one hit, one walk and one run (unearned) in eight innings for his first professional playoff victory.

“[Markey] made pitches when he had to and really mixed his pitches well, especially against a very aggressive team we faced yesterday that came out swinging,” Johnson said. “But you can’t say enough good things about his outing. He definitely set the tone and went into the eighth with no hits.”

The Pelicans’ offense came to life in the third inning as Jason Vosler hit an RBI single -- the club’s third straight base hit in the frame -- to give Myrtle Beach a 1-0 lead. Pin-Chieh Chen hit an RBI single in the fifth inning to give the Pelicans a 2-0 advantage. Then, Chesny Young hit an RBI single and Chen hit another RBI single in the sixth inning as Myrtle Beach went up 4-0.

“We came out swinging like they did yesterday,” Johnson said.

Dash starter Yency Almonte received the loss as he went 4 2/3 innings, struck out seven and allowed two earned runs on five hits and three walks. James Dykstra allowed two earned runs, five hits and struck out one in 2 1/3 innings, and Andre Wheeler struck out two in a shutout frame.

In Game 3 on Friday, the Pelicans are expected to send Jonathan Martinez -- who led the Carolina League in ERA with a 2.56 mark -- to the mound against Brandon Brennan (3-4, 3.55). It will again be do-or-die for Myrtle Beach.

“The [stakes] are as high as they can be. It is what it is,” Johnson said. “It’s a free-for-all. We’re gonna come out and compete offensively and Martinez is gonna come out and do the same thing. So we look forward to another good game; there’s been two pretty good games in a row. That’s what it’s all about.”

This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 1:40 AM with the headline "Pelicans survive near washout to force Game 3 in playoffs against Dash."