CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Pelicans rally from 4-0 deficit to claim series-opening win

Published on April 23, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - In a matchup of two struggling offenses in the Carolina League Southern Division, the Pelicans decided they had had enough of their pestering issues at the dish.

Myrtle Beach cranked out five runs on five hits from the seventh inning on to rally from an early 4-0 deficit and claim a 6-5 victory over the Kinston Indians in the series opener of a three-game set at Grainger Stadium.

The Pelicans again watched as an opponent got out of the gate quickly. In the bottom of the second against Myrtle Beach starter Jose Ortegano, the Indians plated three on RBI singles by Kyle Bellows and Richard Martinez as well as a sacrifice fly by Ronald Rivas. The first batter of the third inning greeted Ortegano rudely as well as Lucas Montero took his first home run of the season out to left-center to put the K-Tribe in front 4-0.

Myrtle Beach couldn't solve Kinston starter Joey Mahalic. Through five and two-thirds, Mahalic allowed just a single tally, and that came in his final full inning of work. After facing the minimum from the first through the fourth, the right-hander allowed a leadoff single by Gerry Rodriguez and a double by Gerardo Avila to open the fifth. Two batters later, Calvin Culver's one-out sacrifice fly put the Pelicans on the board at 4-1. Mahalic departed with two gone in the sixth in line for the win.

It was the strong Kinston bullpen, however, that couldn't hold the lead. Down three in the seventh, the Pelicans rally began against Indians reliever Travis Turek. Leadoff man Avila walked and went to second on a Jesus Sucre single. With the pair aboard, Culver grounded out to first, advancing the pair to scoring position. Shayne Moody then grounded out to third, bringing Avila home and cutting the Kinston lead to 4-2. The next man up, shortstop Ryan Barba battled with a full count, fouling off multiple pitches before lacing an RBI single up the middle to bring the Birds within one.

In the eighth, the Myrtle Beach charge began auspiciously. Yoel Campusano's hot shot grounder to third kicked off Karexon Sanchez's glove and into foul territory. On the error, Campusano never stopped sprinting, chugging to second to put the tying run in scoring position at the inning's outset. Following an Adam Milligan strikeout, the Pelicans went to work. Rodriguez tripled to the right-centerfield gap to score Campusano and tie the game, the outfielder smacking his hands together and pumping his fists as he arrived at third base. The three-bagger ended Turek's (0-1) night, and Avila wasted no time with the new arm. The big first baseman turned the first pitch from Matt Langwell straight around for a two-run homer to center to give the Pelicans a 6-4 advantage, their first lead since the first inning of their April 18 series finale with the Salem Red Sox.

The victory didn't come without its drama late. The first three Indians reached in the eighth against Pelicans lefty Matt Crim. With the bases loaded, however, Crim (2-0) got Richard Martinez to ground into a 5-3, run-scoring double play. The twin killing put Myrtle Beach's lead at 5-4, and manager Rocket Wheeler went to his bullpen. Righty Jaye Chapman (S, 2) entered the game, secured the final out of the eighth, and put the Tribe down in order in the ninth for the save. The win snapped a seven-game Pelicans losing streak, their longest since a ten-game slide from August 25 to September 4 of last year.

The Pelicans-Indians three-game series continues tomorrow evening at Grainger Stadium. Highly-touted prospects Randall Delgado for Myrtle Beach and Kelvin De La Cruz for Kinston will face off at 7:00. "Pelican Pregame" gets rolling on ESPN Radio The Team at 6:45.

The Pelicans return to the Grand Strand Tuesday for the first of a six-game homestand against the Potomac Nationals and Frederick Keys. Single game and season tickets, flex books, and mini-plans, are available now through the Pelicans Box Office by calling (843) 918-6000 or (877) 918-TIXX or by visiting the Tickets page at MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.

Check out the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Statistics

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



Carolina League Stories from April 23, 2010


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