Povse, Bird & Johnson-Mullins blank Pelicans

ZEBULON, NC - Max Povse struck out seven batters over seven scoreless innings, Zack Bird pitched a scoreless eighth and left-hander Chase Johnson-Mullins closed it out with a scoreless ninth while the Mudcats won their fourth straight game 2-0 versus the Pelicans at Five County Stadium on Friday night.

For Povse (1-0, 0.00) the shutout effort was his second straight and raised his scoreless innings streak to 13 to start the season. The 6'8" right-hander from Green Hope High School in Cary, NC walked one, yielded just two hits and struck out seven while earning his first win of the season in front of a crowd of 4,934 in Zebulon.

The win was Carolina's fourth straight and kept them up a game above Salem in the first half standings at 6-3. The two-hit shutout effort between Povse, Bird and Johnson-Mullins was also the second shutout for the Mudcats this season. 

The Mudcats (6-3) struck first in the game while getting a run in the fourth from Dansby Swanson against Myrtle Beach (3-6) starter Trevor Clifton. Swanson walked to start the quick rally and managed to reach third after stealing second and moving over to third on a throwing error by catcher Gioskar Amaya. A wild pitch let loose by Clifton (0-1, 5.87) moments later let Swanson in from third and the Mudcats took a 1-0 lead.

The Pelicans had a chance to tie the game with a run in the fifth on a two-out infield single to second by Amaya, but Jeffrey Baez (who had been at second before the single) attempted to score from second on the play and was caught at home by Omar Obregon to end the inning. Baez was running on the pitch and Amaya's single caromed off Povse's glove up the middle before getting to Obregon.

Obregon helped preserve the 1-0 fifth inning lead with his assist at the plate to retire Baez. He then lifted the Mudcats to a 2-0 lead with a two-out RBI single to center against reliever Jordan Minch in the last of the fifth. His hit scored Joseph Odom who had started the inning with a single off Clifton.

Clifton took the loss after allowing two earned runs and three walks over four and 2/3 innings pitched. He also struck out six and allowed just three hits in the loss. Minch worked two and 1/3 innings out of the bullpen for Myrtle Beach and scattered five hits while keeping the Mudcats scoreless. James Farris pitched the final frame out of the pen for the Pelicans and, like Minch, blanked the Mudcats.

Povse went seven scoreless in his start with a walk, seven strikeouts and just two hits allowed. So far in 2016, the right-hander from Cary has allowed just three hits over 13.0 scoreless innings pitched. He has also struck out 13 and pitched to a .073 average against.

Bird worked the eighth for the Mudcats and kept the Pelicans without a run despite walking two in the inning. He finished the eighth by retiring leadoff man Rashad Crawford at first on a soft groundout to the third base side of the mound.

Johnson-Mullins walked Glibber Torres to start the ninth, but managed to take him off the bags moments later with a pickoff at first. Johnson-Mullins then finished the game with a groundout and strikeout of Ian Happ and Yasiel Balaguer respectively.

The series continues on Saturday evening with the first pitch scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at Five County Stadium. RHP Ryan Clark will make the game three start for Carolina as they look for a series clinching victory. The Pelicans, meanwhile, will go with RHP Erick Leal in Saturday's Vintage Baseball Night game.

Full, half and mini plan season tickets as well as group ticket packages are currently available by contacting a front office representative at (919) 269-CATS (2287) or by visiting www.carolinamudcats.com.

The Carolina Mudcats are the Class A Advanced affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. First established in 1991, the two-time Southern League Champion Carolina Mudcats in their 26th consecutive season of baseball at Five County Stadium in Zebulon, N.C. 

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