CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Red Sox Hold Off Pelicans to Take Series

Published on June 6, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


SALEM, VA - It seems that the Pelicans could plug in any combinations of players and hits and leads early against the Salem Red Sox and still be powerless against a tough outcome. Or at least that's how it felt in the first half of the 2010 season series between these two clubs.

Again the Pelicans scored the game's first run, as has become a common theme this year against Salem, and again the Red Sox took home the game's final lead. Myrtle Beach's three first inning runs didn't hold up as the Pelicans dropped the fourth of their final five after winning the first two on this seven-game road trip, falling to the Red Sox 5-4 Sunday afternoon at Salem Memorial Ballpark

Facing 2008 Boston Rule 5 Draft selection Miguel Gonzalez, the Pelicans waited patiently in the top of the first inning as the right-hander struggled to find his command. In his first minor league start since September 2007, and just his second appearance at all since March 2009 Tommy John surgery, Gonzalez issued walks to the first three men he faced, loading the bases and setting up a two-run Mike Jones single to stake the Birds to a 2-0 lead. With Jones at first and Travis Jones at third, Samuel Sime rolled into a run-scoring double play, and the Pelicans had a 3-0 advantage. It marked the fifth time in ten contests between these two teams this season that the Pelicans had scored in a game's opening inning and the seventh time that the Birds had taken a game's initial lead. Myrtle Beach dropped the previous six such contests.

Sunday would be no different as the frustrating pattern continued. The Red Sox began to chip away in the bottom of the first when they, too, loaded the bases against Pelicans starter Matt Crim. With three aboard, it was a walk again factoring in as a bases-loaded Tim Federowicz free pass netted Salem's first run to make it a 3-1 contest. Two innings later, light-hitting outfielder Peter Hissey knocked the first home run of his professional career off the very top of the right field wall and bouncing over it to cut the Pelicans lead to 3-2.

Then, in the fifth, it was Myrtle Beach-killer Ryan Lavarnway's turn. With two on and one out, Lavarnway continued his torment of the Pelicans staff with a monstrous home run off of Crim (3-4) to left field to again wrestle the lead back from Myrtle Beach. The three-run shot gave the Red Sox a 5-3 lead and gave Lavarnway a share of the Carolina League home run lead with 13. Three of those longballs have come against the Pelicans, and the fifth-inning jack put Lavarnway's RBI total against Myrtle Beach at 19 out of a total of 47. The Yale University product entered Sunday afternoon batting .459 against Myrtle Beach.

A Pelicans rally in the sixth inning netted one more run, but the Birds left the would-be game-tying run in scoring position. Myrtle Beach left another man aboard in the eighth before going quietly in order in the ninth. Zach Hammes (1-1), the third Salem pitcher of four on the day, picked up the victory. Kyle Fernandes (S, 6) pitched three shutout innings for his second save of the series. Myrtle Beach has dropped six of its last seven losses by one run each. The other, Saturday night's at Salem, came by two tallies.

The Pelicans return to Myrtle Beach on Monday for the first of three against the Winston-Salem Dash. Southpaw Brett Oberholtzer (2-3, 5.03) gets the ball in the series opener for Myrtle Beach against Winston righty Nate Jones (4-2, 4.94). The first game of the series will be another installment of Kids Eat Free Monday in which all kids ages 12 and under receive a coupon for a free hot dog, chips, and a drink with the purchase of a game ticket. Tuesday is the team's first Bark in the Park Night where fans are invited to bring their furry four-legged friends to the park for the middle game of the three-game set.

For tickets, contact the Pelicans box office at (843) 918-6000 or (877) 918-TIXX or visit the Tickets page at MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.

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Carolina League Stories from June 6, 2010


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