Berg, bullpen shine as Birds sweep Blue Rocks

WILMINGTON, Del. (August 20, 2017) -  The Myrtle Beach Pelicans earned their fourth sweep of the season behind a terrific showing from the club's pitching staff Sunday in a 2-1 victory over the Wilmington Blue Rocks at Frawley Stadium.
With Myrtle Beach (68-59, 25-32) and Wilmington (64-62, 25-31) tied at one in the seventh inning, Connor Myers singled with one out before stealing second base. With two men retired in the frame, Zack Short struck out swinging on a wild pitch that went to the backstop. Myers scored all the way from second base to give the Pelicans the 2-1 lead.

David Berg (1-2) matched a career-high with three scoreless en route to his first win of the season with Myrtle Beach. Following Berg, Scott Effross entered the contest and fired a scoreless eighth and ninth inning to lock down his eighth save of the season.
Jesse Hodges  kicked off the top of the second inning with a base hit before advancing to third on a one-out bunt single from Eddy Martinez and Wilmington error. With two men retired, Hodges sprinted home on a wild pitch to make the score 1-0. 
In the bottom of the third, Jonathan McCray kicked off the frame by reaching on a walk. McCray advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt before a two-out error allowed McCray to score, tying the game at one. 
Wilmington starter Jacob Bodner made his first career start on Sunday, striking out a career-high eight batters over four innings. He surrendered just one unearned run.
Myrtle Beach starter Ryan Kellogg matched Bodner, yielding just one unearned run on three hits over four innings of work before the southpaw gave way to the bullpen. 
The Pelicans' victory was their ninth win in the last 10 games, and the club earned its first seven-win road trip since April 8-14 of the 2014 season.
Myrtle Beach will enjoy an off day on Monday before kicking off a three-game home set Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. with the Down East Wood Ducks. The Birds will send RHP Casey Bloomquist  (4-5, 6.32 ERA) to the mound to oppose Down East LHP Wes Benjamin (8-6, 3.98 ERA). Coverage will begin at 6:50 p.m. on MiLB.tv, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, TuneIn and the MiLB First Pitch app. 
Tuesday's contest is a Craft Beer Tuesday, meaning $2 craft draughts from 6-8 p.m. Gates open at 6 p.m. from TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. 
The 2017 season is the 19th season for the Pelicans franchise and third as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For information on tickets to see the Pelicans in 2017, 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 six seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences in all of sports in each of the last six years and the best in the Carolina League for six 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 two-time defending Mills Cup Champions, winning the title in 2015 and 2016 as well as 2000 and co-Mills Cup championship honors in the inaugural 1999 season. The Pelicans have made ten postseason appearances behind 12 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season and second half of 2016. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or emailing [email protected]