CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Hicks headline wild game one wn, 9-8

Published on May 26, 2008 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


WINSTON-SALEM, NC - Brandon Hicks belted two home runs and drove in five runs as the Pelicans built a big lead and hung on late for a, 9-8, series opening victory over the Winston-Salem Warthogs Monday night at Ernie Shore Field in Winston-Salem.

Pelicans' starter Ryne Reynoso (4-3) earned the win, tossing six strong innings. The right-hander permitted just two runs, both unearned on four hits while striking out four. His efforts however, were largely lost in the near late-inning heroics of the Warthogs and the Pelicans' offensive exploits.

The Pelicans used a lead-off walk to strike first in the second inning. Tyler Flowers received the free pass from John Ely and advanced to second on an Eric Campbell single. A wild pitch moved both runners up, and Jon Mark Owings gave Myrtle Beach the lead with an RBI-groundout to the shortstop.

In the third, a two-out walk from Ely to Willie Cabrera allowed Ernesto Mejia to come to the plate. He wasn't there for long, blasting a first pitch fast ball over the wall in left field for a 3-0 Pelicans' lead. The home run was Mejia's third on the road trip.

Brandon Hicks replicated the feat in the fourth. Hicks roped a two-run shot off of Ely to right field with Yohan Silva aboard for a 5-0 lead. The towering shot was Hicks' tenth of the year, placing him momentarily second in the Carolina League.

The Warthogs capitalized on a rare fielding error on Hicks to score a pair of unearned runs off of Reynoso in the fifth. John Shelby cracked a two-run double down the left field line to score both Greg Paiml and Paulo Orlando, trimming the lead to 5-2.

But Hicks got another pitch to drive from reliever Israel Chareno in the sixth inning. With two aboard and two away, Hicks drilled a Chareno offiering over the wall in dead-center field for an 8-2 lead. His second home run of the game and third of the road trip ties him for the league lead with Frederick's Matt Wieters. The two homers and five RBIs both equal season highs for the birds, and the two long balls equal the franchise mark for the 27th time.

The Warthogs scored three runs off of Pelicans' reliever Carlos Rivas in the seventh and eighth, but the Pelicans enjoyed a 9-5 lead heading to the ninth inning. Rivas conceded a double to Paiml leading off the inning, and a single to Shelby to score Paiml. Rivas was pulled in favor of Ferdin Tejeda, but Brandon Allen rocketed a two-run blast to right field to make it a one-run ballgame. The tension wouldn't last long, as Sal Sanchez popped out in foul ground to end the ballgame on the first pitch from Tejeda. Tejeda earned his first save of the season.

Ely (1-6) was tagged with his sixth loss of the season, permitting five runs and two home runs in his four innings.

The series will continue with game two scheduled on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM. RHP Chris Vines (2-0, 2.01) will make the start for Myrtle Beach against RHP Steven Spurgeon (1-0, 3.38) for the Warthogs.

Check out the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Carolina League Stories from May 26, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central