CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Pelicans' Rally Falls Short in Finale

Published on August 8, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


MYRTLE BEACH, SC- Though the Potomac Nationals scored in just one inning on Sunday night at BB&T Coastal Field, the four runs to cross the plate in the top of the fourth inning were enough as the Pelicans' late charge stalled to give the P-Nats a 4-3 win and a series victory.

The Birds got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning against Potomac starter Jimmy Barthmaier as Dan Nelson ripped a single off the right-hander to score Mycal Jones and give the Pelicans an early lead. Another run came across the following inning when Mycal Jones lined a single to left to score Matt Kennelly. With two runs and six hits in the first two frames, the Pelicans were cruising early on, but once Barthmaier departed after the third inning, the Pelicans found hits hard to come by.

Right-hander Pat Lehman (4-2) came on in relief of Barthmaier to toss the next three innings, and his offspeed pitches kept the Pelican bats at bay while his offense woke up when Lehman entered the contest.

For the Pelicans, Brett Oberholtzer was cruising to begin the ballgame, setting down the first nine men he faced in order with three strikeouts through the first three innings. In the fourth, however, Obie ran into trouble. Steve Lombardozzi led off with a hard single to left, and Dan Lyons walked. Michael Burgess then roped a single to right to score Lombardozzi, but Burgess was caught in a rundown between first and second for the first out. Pelican killer Tyler Moore then followed with a lengthy at bat that ended with an RBI single to score Lyons and tie the game at two.

Two batters later, Sean Rooney blasted a drive into deep right-center field to score Moore with the go-ahead run, and when Jones's throw eluded the glove of Nelson and dropped into the Potomac dugout, Rooney came all the way around to score the Nats' fourth run.

Oberholtzer (4-5) made it through five innings, retiring the side in order in every inning except the fourth, while striking out four on five hits allowed.

The Pelicans and P-Nats both traded bagels on the scoreboard with the Pelicans' best chance at scoring coming in the fourth. With the bases loaded and two down, Cory Harrilchak was thrown a steady diet of changeups away, eventually striking out to end the frame. In the ninth, with Justin Phillabaum on the hill to try and close out the ballgame for the P-Nats, the Birds scratched out a run on a Mycal Jones sacrifice fly to bring the Pelicans to within one run at 4-3, but Harrilchak's sharply hit line drive landed in the glove of centerfielder Nick Moresi to end the ballgame and give the P-Nats a series victory.

Matt Kennelly went 3-for-4 to notch his first multi-hit game since May 31 while Nelson and Mike Jones each knocked a pair of base hits for the Pelicans offense. The Pelicans welcome the first-half champions in the Northern Division, the Frederick Keys, to BB&T Coastal Field for the final time in the 2010 regular season. The first of this four-game series kicks off with the penultimate installment of Kids Eat Free Mondays at the ballpark where children 12 and under through the gates will receive a voucher for a free hot dog, chips, and soda to enjoy while they watch the Pelicans make their push for the postseason!

For more information on tickets, daily promotions, and all things Pelicans, log onto myrtlebeachpelicans.com or call 1-877-918-TIXX or 843-918-6000.

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Carolina League Stories from August 8, 2010


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