Crawdads Defeat Pelicans in Game 1

Hickory, NC- The Hickory Crawdads scored twice in the eighth and held off a Myrtle Beach rally to win 2-1 on Tuesday night at LP Frans Stadium.

Ismael Agreda got the start for the Crawdads, playing as their Latin-inspired Llamas identity, and put together another solid outing. The right-hander went five innings tonight, scattering five hits while striking out eight Pelicans batters.

Kai-Noa Wynyard would relieve Agreda in the sixth and be equally impressive, allowing two hits while striking out three in the contest for Hickory (19-20).

On the other side, Brooks Caple was stellar against the Crawdads, as the Texas righty delivered seven shutout innings to keep things deadlocked going into the eighth.

In the eighth, the ‘Dads would break through as Chandler Pollard reached on a one-out infield single to spark a two-run rally. After stealing second, the Crawdads shortstop reached third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch with Ben Hartl at the plate, making it a 1-0 game.

Hickory would add a run in the eighth on a bases loaded walk to Rafe Perich, upping the lead to 2-0.

The Pelicans would get on the board in the ninth against William Privette, but the unearned run would not factor into the decision, as Privette claimed his first save of the year.

Wynyard earned the win, while Yoendris Gonzalez would be the tough-luck losing pitcher in the game played in front of 1,247 fans on Tuesday.

The Crawdads will look to make it two straight against Myrtle Beach (15-24) at 11am tomorrow, as Kamdyn Perry toes the slab for Hickory.