CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Oberholtzer whiffs 12, Potomac gets after Birds bullpen in 7-5 win

Published on August 14, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


WOODBRIDGE, VA - A Saturday night contest that seemed to do nothing but defy conventional wisdom still gave the Pelicans a chance in the ninth. But with a massive comeback within reach, yet another tough night in Virginia left the Pelicans confounded and seeking to avoid a series sweep against the Potomac Nationals.

Myrtle Beach starter Brett Oberholtzer fanned a career-high 12 Potomac hitters over five dazzling frames, and the Pelicans offense churned out 12 hits, twice the output of their opponents, but one bad inning was all it took for the Potomac Nationals to squeak out a 7-5 victory over the Pelicans in game two of this three-game set at G.Richard Pfitzner Stadium.

Oberholtzer's night was nothing short of brilliant and could well have been the best start of his professional career. The southpaw set the tone for his five dominant innings by striking out the side in the bottom of the first inning, a feat he would match in the third and fifth. After allowing a leadoff solo shot homer to Pelicans killer Tyler Moore-his ninth against Myrtle Beach out of a league-leading total 23 jacks this season-Oberholtzer struck out another in the second. He fanned two in the fourth. In fact, Oberholtzer only recorded three outs over his five innings not via the K, and Moore's homer was the only blemish on his record. The lefty struck out eight of the last ten men he faced.

The Pelicans tied the contest in the top of the fourth inning with a pair of two-out singles from Cody Johnson and Samuel Sime collaborating to bring home Jordan Kreke and make it a 1-1 affair.

After five innings and 84 pitches for Oberholtzer, however, Pelicans manager Rocket Wheeler went to the bullpen and summoned Paul Clemens. The right-hander Clemens, coming out of the bullpen for the first time since after two outstanding spot starts, ran into trouble immediately. The inning started with an ominous feel in a way only an innocent baseball play can produce: by the bunt single.

When P-Nats second baseman Francisco Soriano reached just ahead of the throw from Pelicans third sacker Samuel Sime on his bunt up the infield's left side to lead off the sixth, the inning was on for Potomac. The Nationals loaded the bases with one out against Clemens, and designated hitter Sean Rooney crushed a bases-clearing double off the top of the wall in center to break the deadlock and hand his club a 4-1 lead. Five hitters later, when the inning mercifully ended, three more had scored, and Clemens's day was done. The Pelicans righty surrendered six runs, though just three earned, on four hits in the inning.

Trying desperately to jumpstart an offense that scored just three runs in the first 16 offensive innings of this series, Myrtle Beach put the first two men on in the eighth inning on consecutive smoked singles from Gerry Rodriguez and Mike Jones. But after the Nationals went to the bullpen, southpaw Joe Testa induced a first-pitch double-play ball from Jordan Kreke to seemingly snuff out a major rally push.

With two gone, however, designated hitter Cody Johnson and Sime crushed back-to-back home runs to pull the Pelicans within three at 7-4. For Johnson, his first home run back in Myrtle Beach and 13th overall this season between three levels, (Double A, Advanced A, Rookie) put him into a second-place tie with Eric Campbell (2007-08) for the second-most home runs in Pelicans franchise history at 33.

In the ninth, the outlook turned optimistic as well. With one out, the Pelicans put three straight men aboard on a Mycal Jones walk, an error charged to Nationals shortstop Jose Lozada that allowed Cory Harrilchak to reach, and an RBI single by Gerry Rodriguez plating Jones to make it a 7-5 game. With the go-ahead run at the plate, however, Nationals reliever Justin Phillabaum (S, 3) struck out Mike Jones and Jordan Kreke, the latter on a full count, to nail down the victory. The Nationals have now beaten the Pelicans 13 times in 19 tries this year including six out of the clubs' last seven matchups.

Myrtle Beach will try to avoid a series sweep with a Sunday afternoon contest at Pfitzner Stadium. Lefty Matt Crim (7-9, 4.86), who turned 23 on Saturday, will go to the hill to oppose Nationals righty Marcos Frias (5-5, 6.40) with first pitch slated for 1:05.

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Carolina League Stories from August 14, 2010


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