CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Rough Trip Ends With Late Rally Falling Short

Published on July 11, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


WILMINGTON, DE - Wilmington pitching suffocated Pelicans hitting for the second straight night, sending Myrtle Beach into the ninth inning scoreless before the Birds snapped a 17-inning shutout streak at the plate, but it wasn't enough as the Blue Rocks got enough early offense to hold on late and take the finale of this three-game series 3-2 at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium.

For the third straight evening, the Blue Rocks got two runs in the bottom of the first inning, and for the second straight, it seemed like it would be enough. John Whittleman's RBI groundout and Ryan Stovall's run-scoring double staked Wilmington to a 2-0 lead as they had boasted for Saturday and Sunday as well after the opening inning. The Blue Rocks added one more tally against Pelicans starter Robbie Ross in the bottom of the fifth, using three Myrtle Beach errors to plate catcher Travis Jones and make it a 3-0 lead.

Ross (8-3) wasn't his sharpest, walking one and striking out just one over six innings, but he limited the Rocks to three runs, two earned, on seven hits during his night. It was Wilmington's pitching that made sure he'd depart in line for the loss.

The Blue Rocks kept the Pelicans off the board inning after inning one night after shutting out Myrtle Beach in a 3-0 middle-game win in Delaware. The Pelicans left single runners on in the first, second, third, and fifth and then left a pair on in the sixth and eighth. Entering the ninth down 3-0, Myrtle Beach appeared destined for its second consecutive shutout defeat by that margin. Like Tyler Sample on Sunday, on Monday, it was Wilmington starter Justin Marks who held the Pelicans down, blanking Myrtle Beach on four hits over his six innings. Marks (5-6) struck out five and walked three.

In the ninth with a man on, one pitch from the shutout loss, the Pelicans broke through when Wilmington reliever Brendan Lafferty served up a two-run homer to Myrtle Beach's Jared Bolden. The laser-beam shot, Bolden's third of the year, cut the Pelicans' deficit to one at 3-2, but Wilmington summoned righty Edgar Garcia (S, 1), who got Leury Garcia to fly out to left for the game's final out.

The Pelicans limp home following their season-long road trip, having dropped seven of ten games away from BB&T Coastal Field to fall into last place in the Southern Division's second-half standings at 8-11 after the break.

Wednesday, the Birds return home for the first of four with the Salem Red Sox at BB&T Coastal Field from July 13-16. Tickets for all Pelicans home games can be purchased by visiting the BB&T Coastal Field box office, the Tickets page at MyrtleBeachPelicans.com, or by calling (843)918-6000 or (877)918-TIXX.

Check out the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from July 11, 2011


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