CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Pelicans Hand Shirek First Loss

Published on May 26, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - With hundreds of area school kids in attendance, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans taught a lesson in why games aren't played on paper. A Pelicans offense that ranks last in the Carolina League in average handed previously-unbeaten Winston-Salem Dash starter Charlie Shirek his first loss of the season 6-5 in front of 1,915 fans at BB&T Coastal Field.

After both starters, Shirek and Myrtle Beach's Erik Cordier, retired the side in order in the first, Winston-Salem got on the board in the second on a Christian Marrero solo home run, his fourth of the year. The Pelicans bounced back to take their first lead of the ballgame in the bottom of the third on RBI singles by Cole Miles and Jason Heyward. Miles plated Matt Kennelly with his knock, and Heyward's scored Miles to give the Pelicans a 2-1 lead.

Myrtle Beach's early upper hand didn't last long, as Winston-Salem countered with two in the fourth. After a leadoff out, Cordier allowed four straight to reach: a single by Marrero followed by back-to-back doubles by Lee Cruz and Logan Johnson, the latter scoring two. After walking Joe Persichina, however, Cordier went to work, striking out Kent Gerst and getting Dale Mollenhauer to flyout to left field to end the inning.

After the Dash added a run to their lead in the fifth, the Pelicans took over. Chad Lundahl and Miles opened the inning with back-to-back singles, were sacrificed to second and third by a C.J. Lee bunt and scored when Heyward doubled. That tied the game at four and was followed by back-to-back walks issued to Freddie Freeman and Cody Johnson. With the bases loaded, Donell Linares came through, scoring Heyward and Freeman on a single of his own. The Pelicans tallied four runs in the inning to take a 6-4 lead, more in that frame alone than Shirek (7-1) had allowed in seven of his eight starts this year. The Dash righty was charged with all six Pelicans runs on nine hits over five innings in taking his first loss.

Three Pelicans relievers combined to secure the win for Cordier (1-2). The Birds right-hander went five innings and allowed four runs on seven hits in his start. Out of the bullpen, Tommy Palica and Lee Hyde each earned holds with a combined three innings. Palica allowed a run on four hits while Hyde tossed a perfect inning and a third, striking out two while not walking a man. Cory Gearrin (S, 9) nailed down his ninth save of the season with a perfect ninth inning. The Pelicans now have eight wins when their opponents score first, matching their total when they score first.

The Pelicans and Dash meet for game two of this three-game series tomorrow morning at 10:35 AM in the second of two School Kids Days at BB&T Coastal Field. Myrtle Beach will send left-hander Richard Sullivan (1-1, 5.25) to the mound in a rematch from last week with righty Levi Maxwell (0-7, 5.91). Tickets are available for the middle game of the series by contacting 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 26, 2009


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