Birds bats fall silent in loss to Blue Rocks

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (August 10, 2019)- The Myrtle Beach Pelicans mustered just one run on six hits and fell to the Wilmington Blue Rocks 4-1 in the middle game of the series on Saturday night at TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. 

After Ryan Kellogg (L, 2-7) blazed through the first two innings, the southpaw ran into trouble in the third inning. Kellogg retired the first two batters, but a two-out walk to Ricky Aracena allowed the inning to continue. Aracena came in to score when Brewer Hicklen reached on a throwing error from Cam Balego and the Blue Rocks (24-24, 68-49) took a 1-0 lead.
Dennicher Carrasco made it 2-0 in favor of Wilmington when he lined an RBI single and the Blue Rocks added their third run of the inning on a run-scoring single from Cristian Perez.
Trailing 3-0 into the bottom of the third inning, the Pelicans (24-25, 44-71) found the scoreboard in the home half of the inning. Aramis Ademan doubled to lead off the inning and Zac Taylor collected his first High-A hit and RBI on a double to left center and the Birds cut into the deficit and made it 3-1. 
In the eighth, the Blue Rocks added on when Tyler Hill scored from third on a wild pitch that extended the lead to 4-1. 
The Pelicans brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Tad Ratliff wiggled out of the jam to lock up his 21st save of the season. 
Josh Mitchell (W, 4-0) got the win for the Blue Rocks after he tossed 3.1 innings in relief and not allowing a run. 
Myrtle Beach and Wilmington will conclude their three-game series on Sunday night at 6:05 p.m. The Pelicans will send RHP Alexander Vargas (2-4, 5.37) to the hill against LHP Rito Lugo (2-3, 2.49) for the Blue Rocks. 
Coverage starts at 5:50 p.m. on MiLB.tv, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast and the MiLB First Pitch and TuneIn Apps.
Sunday will also be Family Sunday, courtesy of Anderson Brothers Bank, WPDE and 94.5 The Tide.
The 2019 season is the 21st season for the Pelicans franchise and fifth as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For tickets visit MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/tickets, call (843) 918-6000, or visit the Pelicans Box Office.
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. Since being acquired by a group led by Chuck Greenberg during the 2006 season, the Pelicans have repeatedly set team attendance records and become known as one of Minor League Baseball's most innovative and creative franchises. The team and its employees have been dedicated to making a difference in the Myrtle Beach community, specifically giving back over $2 million in donations, fundraising proceeds, in-kind services and community service since launching the Pelicans Play It Forward Community Initiative in 2013. TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark has ranked in the top eight in all of Minor League Baseball by Stadium Journey in six of the last seven seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences and the best in the Carolina League for six of the past seven seasons. In June 2017, the Pelicans won the 2017 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. On the field, the team has won four Mills Cup Championships, including claims to back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000, and again in 2015 and 2016. The Pelicans have made 11 postseason appearances behind 13 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season, second half of 2016 and first half of 2017. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or email [email protected].