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CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Pelicans Shell Keys 11-1

June 16, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


MYRTLE BEACH, SC - Coming home from a 2-4 road trip, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans were in need of a victory to inch closer to the first-half Southern Division title. They got it on Thursday in blowout fashion, rocking the Northern Division champion Frederick Keys 9-1 in the opening game of a four-game series at BB&T Coastal Field. The Pelicans' magic number to clinch dropped to two.

The Birds' dormant offense got going quickly against Frederick ace Bobby Bundy, putting Leury Garcia at third and Ryan Strausborger at first with one out in the first. Bundy tried to pick off Strausborger, but his errant throw to first skipped into right field, allowing Garcia to score the game's first run. Strausborger went from first to third on the play and when first baseman Tyler Kolodny tried to throw out the runner, the throw bounced into the camera well on the third-base side to let in another run.

Strausborger was not done as he clubbed his seventh home run of the season in the third inning. The two-run shot staked Myrtle Beach to a 4-0 lead. The Carolina League All-Star had three hits for the second straight game, extending his hitting streak to 16 games and his on-base streak to 28 games. Both stretches are the longest runs by a Carolina Leaguer in 2011. Garcia and David Paisano also notched three hits apiece in the onslaught.

Bundy (6-5) was chased after only four innings as he allowed six runs, five earned, on nine hits. After Kipp Schutz got the Keys on the board in the top of the fifth with a run-scoring single, reliever Keith Moreland came on for the fifth inning and the Pelicans' bats greeted him rudely. Zach Zaneski and Mitch Hilligoss started the frame with singles and David Paisano followed with an RBI double. Santiago Chirino made it an 8-1 game with a sacrifice fly.

The run support was more than enough for Pelicans starter Wilfredo Boscan. The right-hander once again outpitched the opponents' ace as he held the Keys to one run in seven strong innings, scattering seven hits, walking two and striking out four. Boscan (2-2) beat Kinston All-Star Drew Pomeranz on Saturday before taking the win over the All-Star Bundy on Thursday.

Myrtle Beach piled on in their last at bat in the eighth. Jared Bolden scored on a Moreland wild pitch, Strausborger tacked on an RBI single before a Garabez Rosa error at shortstop ballooned the Pelicans' lead to 11-1. The offensive outburst was the first double-digit output by Myrtle Beach since May 3, when the Pelicans crushed Potomac 20-6.

Joe Ortiz and Zach Osborne both worked a scoreless inning of relief behind Boscan to close out the Myrtle Beach victory. The Pelicans now lead the Southern Division by two games over the Kinston Indians with three to play. The Pelicans, with a Kinston loss, can clinch the division crown with a win tomorrow night.

With a chance to lock down the first-half title, the Pelicans turn to All-Star right-hander Joe Wieland on Friday. Southpaw Nathan Moreau gets the ball for the Keys with first pitch at BB&T Coastal Field scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Tickets for all Pelicans home games are available at the BB&T Coastal Field box office, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com, and by phone at 843-918-6000 or 877-918-TIXX.

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