CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Beat Rolls on for Red Sox Against Pelicans

Published on July 26, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


SALEM, VA - Sometimes, even the best offensive roll of your season and solid pitching aren't enough when it seems the baseball gods conspire against you.

A plug-and-play formula continued for the Salem Red Sox in a one-sided season series against the Pelicans as Salem worked around 14 Pelicans hits for a 5-4 series-opening win at Salem Memorial Ballpark Monday night. The Pelicans, whose hitting outburst now stands at 60 hits over their last four games, made a series of crucial outs on the basepaths as the Red Sox claimed their 13th win in 15 tries this season against Myrtle Beach.

Like it has been so many times this year between these two clubs, it was the Pelicans leading early and the Red Sox winning anyway. Myrtle Beach got on top in the opening frame when former Red Sox first baseman Mike Jones singled home Dan Nelson for a 1-0 lead. Immediately, the Red Sox rebounded. With two outs and a runner at third base, four straight Red Sox reached base and three came home to score. Will Middlebrooks, Tim Federowicz, and Dan Butler all drove home runs, and Salem took the only lead it would need on the night.

Each time Myrtle Beach tried to chip away, the Red Sox countered. The Pelicans got a run home on a Jordan Kreke RBI single, part of Kreke's second consecutive three-hit night, in the third inning. Salem got the run back an inning later when Peter Hissey singled home Jon Hee. In the sixth, it was Luis Sumoza plating Kreke to get the Pelicans to within 4-3 before Salem responded. With runners at second and third, Paul Clemens uncorked his second of three wild pitches in the inning to score Mitch Dening and again up Salem's lead to two runs.

The Pelicans cut the lead to one run in the eighth inning when Sumoza brought home his second RBI of the night on a sacrifice fly scoring Kreke from third base. But 5-4 was as close as the visitors would get.

Myrtle Beach's mistakes on the basepaths loomed large on the night. In the fifth, the Pelicans saw Dan Nelson cut down at the plate trying to score from first base on a Mike Jones double to right field. Two innings later, it was Nelson again thrown out from right, this time trying to stretch a bloop single down the line into a double. In the eighth, with one out after Sumoza's sacrifice fly, pinch runner L.V. Ware was nabbed trying to steal second on a close call at the bag from field umpire Steve Sanders. The Pelicans went 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position on the night, left nine men on base as a team, and lost for just the eighth time in 36 games this season in which they have outhit their opponents.

Those oddities weren't the only ones in a season series full of them between these two teams. Caleb Clay (4-9), an abysmal 1-9 against the rest of the Carolina League, improved to 3-0 against the Pelicans with five and a third innings of quality ball. Cory Rasmus (0-1), making his first start in a Pelicans uniform, settled down after a shaky first inning to allow just one more unearned tally on four more hits the rest of the way through five full innings. Pat Ryan (S, 1) got two outs to finish the eighth and worked around a leadoff Mycal Jones single in the ninth for the save.

Myrtle Beach and Salem hook up for game two of this three-game series tomorrow night at Salem Memorial Ballpark. Pelicans righty Zeke Spruill (0-2, 7.40) will match up with Salem right-hander Stolmy Pimentel (6-7, 4.21) with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM.

The Pelicans return to BB&T Coastal Field on Thirsty Thursday, July 29 for the first of three with the Winston-Salem Dash. For tickets, log onto MyrtleBeachPelicans.com, stop by BB&T Coastal Field, or call the Pelicans Box Office at (843)918-6000 or (877)918-TIXX.

Check out the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from July 26, 2010


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