Myrtle Beach demolishes Nationals 15-0
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (June 5, 2016) - The Myrtle Beach Pelicans used eight extra-base hits and eight walks to crush the Potomac Nationals 15-0 Sunday night at TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark.
The 15-run win was the franchise's largest margin of victory since April 23, 2014, when they beat Frederick 21-6. The victory also matched their largest home margin since at least 2005, dating back to when the Birds beat the Kinston Indians 17-2 on August 4, 2008.
All nine Pelicans (30-26) batters recorded hits and four players drove in multiple runs.
In a scoreless game in the bottom of the first, Potomac (29-25) starter Luis Reyes (3-5) walked Gleyber Torres and Ian Happ with one out. Torres stole third, and the throw there banked off the glove of Nationals third baseman Drew Ward, allowing Torres to score and make it 1-0 Myrtle Beach. After a walk and a single, Daniel Lockhart drove home Happ on a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 Myrtle Beach after one.
With the same score in the second, Shawon Dunston Jr. socked a triple into the right field corner. Charcer Burks followed by driving home Dunston with a fly ball to make it 3-0. Reyes then walked two more batters before Yasiel Balaguert cleared the bases on a two-run home run off the scoreboard in left-center field. The next batter was Gioskar Amaya, who lined his first home run of the year over the wall in left, marking the first time the Birds went back-to-back this season. Lockhart came up next and drove a double down the right field line before Trey Martin singled him home to complete the six-run rally, making it 8-0.
Still leading 8-0 in the fourth, Lockhart singled before Dunston walked with one out. Two batters later, Rashad Crawford tripled down the right field line to score a pair and make it 10-0 Myrtle Beach. After Torres drew his career-high third walk of the game, Happ slugged an opposite field home run to open up a 14-0 lead.
The Pelicans capped the scoring in the fifth. With one out, Lockhart tripled to center before Martin drove him home with a sacrifice fly to cap the scoring at 15-0.
Trevor Clifton (4-3) started on the mound for Myrtle Beach and allowed only four hits and one walk over six shutout innings, striking out six. Daniel Lewis worked two shutout frames in relief, before Dillon Maples finished off a perfect ninth.
Six Pelicans finished with multiple hits and eight players reached base at least twice. Lockhart finished a home run shy of the cycle, driving in a run and scoring twice. Balaguert drove in a game-high four runs and Happ had two hits, a home run and three RBIs.
The Pelicans have combined to score 31 runs on 40 hits over the past three games, smacking 21 extra-base hits over that span.
The Pelicans will go for the series win on Monday as they host the Nationals at 7:05 p.m. Erick Leal (7-2, 3.33 ERA) will be the starter for Myrtle Beach, while Phillips Valdez (6-2, 3.53 ERA) goes for Potomac. All fans can receive a half-priced ticket to the game by donating an approved item from the Backpack Buddies Donation List. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn.
The 2016 season is the 18th season for the Pelicans franchise and second as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For information on tickets to see the Pelicans in 2016, please call (843) 918-6000, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.
ABOUT THE PELICANS: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and play their home games at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The park has ranked in the top eight in all of Minor League Baseball by Stadium Journey in each of the last five seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences in all of sports in each of the last five years and the best in the Carolina League for five straight seasons as well. In May 2015, TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark won the 2015 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. The Pelicans are the defending Mills Cup Champions, winning the title in 2015 as well as 2000 and co-Mills Cup championship honors in the inaugural 1999 season. The Pelicans have made nine postseason appearances behind 11 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season, as well as five Southern Division titles, most recently in 2015. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or emailing [email protected].