Pelicans drop series opener in Lynchburg, 9-3

LYNCHBURG, Va. (June 9, 2016) - Gioskar Amaya reached base three times but the Myrtle Beach Pelicans fell to the Lynchburg Hillcats 9-3 Thursday at Calvin Falwell Field at Lynchburg City Stadium.

The Pelicans (32-27)got out to an early lead against Lynchburg (38-21) starter Sean Brady (4-3). After Brady walked the first two batters of the game, he got a double play to get on the brink of escaping the jam. However, he uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Rashad Crawford to score and make it 1-0 Myrtle Beach.

In the bottom of the first, Greg Allen began the frame with a solo home run to right to tie the game at one.

Pelicans starter Jake Stinnett (4-3) settled in after that. He retired the next seven batters while Brady sent down eight in a row for Lynchburg.

In a 1-1 game in the bottom of the fourth with two outs and nobody on, Daniel Salters singled off Stinnett to reach base. Mark Mathias followed and doubled to left to give Lynchburg a 2-1 lead.

With the same score in the bottom of the sixth, Lynchburg's Anthony Santander laid down a bunt single to set up Bobby Bradley's single to left, which sent Santander to third. The next batter was Yu-Cheng Chang, who flied out to left to score Santander and give Lynchburg a 3-1 lead.

That would knock out Stinnett, who went 5.1 innings of three-run ball. He struck out six and did not walk a batter.

Still down two in the bottom of the seventh, Pelicans reliever Daury Torrez gave up back-to-back doubles to begin the inning, allowing the Hillcats to take a 4-1 lead. Greg Allen then singled to make it 5-1. Three batters later, Bradley hit a pop that dropped in in shallow left, letting Allen to score and making the score 6-1. With Dillon Maples into the game, Chang tripled to centerto send the tally to 7-1. The next two batters reached on errors by the Pelicans infield, as the defense coughed another run to make it 8-1.

In the top of the eighth, Myrtle Beach right fielder Jeffrey Baez doubled and advanced to third on a fly ball. Two batters later, Torres clobbered a two-run homer to left center to cut the deficit to 8-3.

In the top of the ninth, the Hillcats got a run back on a wild pitch after Greg Allen doubled. Allen went 4-for-5 on the day.

The two teams will get together again on Friday at 6:30 p.m. RHP Jonathan Martinez (3-3, 4.66 ERA) gets the start for Myrtle Beach, while league-ERA leader Julian Merryweather (7-1, 0.92 ERA) goes for Lynchburg. Coverage begins at 6:15 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].