CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Birds bash way past Blue Rocks

Published on May 22, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Cody Johnson has hit a lot of home runs for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans this year, but nobody had gone where he went in Friday night's series-opening 5-1 win over the Wilmington Blue Rocks in front of 2,787 fans at BB&T Coastal Field.

Johnson crushed his Carolina League-leading 16th home run of the season over the batter's eye in dead center field, perhaps the only part of the park to which he had not homered this year, giving the Pelicans a lead in the fourth inning they would not surrender the rest of the night. Earlier in the frame, with his team down 1-0, Jason Heyward shot his eighth homer of the season to the opposite field, just past the outstretched glove of Blue Rocks left fielder Adrian Ortiz to knot things at a run apiece. Following a Freddie Freeman groundout, Johnson's homer gave the Pelicans a 2-1 margin, their first lead of the night, and the only one they would need.

In the sixth, Myrtle Beach scratched out another three runs against Wilmington starter Mario Santiago (1-5). Cole Miles singled to lead off the frame, and the Birds followed a Robert Marcial groundout with a Heyward walk and a Freeman single that scored Miles. Freeman went to second on the throw trying to get Heyward, who advanced to third, and the Blue Rcks intentionally walked Johnson to load the bases and set up the force out anywhere. The plan backfired when Juan Abreu relieved Santiago following the intentional walk and issued back-to-back bases-loaded walks of his own to Donell Linares and Jon Mark Owings to score two more for Myrtle Beach and put the lead at 5-1. Santiago was charged with all five Pelicans runs on six hits over five and a third.

Behind starter Cole Rohrbough (2-1), the Pelicans limited Wilmington to one run on seven hits. Rohrbough tossed five and two-thirds innings and surrendered Wilmington's only run on five hits. It was the fourth time in as many starts this year that the southpaw has only allowed one run. Wilmington's only tally came when Johnny Giavotella plated Derrick Robinson with an RBI single in the third. Lefties Jose Ortegano and Lee Hyde polished off the Blue Rocks with a combined three and a third innings of relief. Pelicans pitchers combined to strike out a season-high 12 batters with Hyde accounting for half of that by striking out six of the seven men he faced to close out the affair.

The middle game of this three-game set for the Pelicans and Blue Rocks comes tomorrow evening at 7:05 at BB&T Coastal Field. It's a matchup of lefties as Wilmington's Everett Teaford (4-1, 2.56) goes against the Pelicans' resurgent southpaw Edgar Osuna (3-3, 3.54). Tickets are available by calling the Pelicans box office at (843)918-6000 or by visiting the Tickets page at MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.

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Carolina League Stories from May 22, 2009


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