Birds sweep doubleheader against Lynchburg

LYNCHBURG, Va. (April 20, 2019) - The Myrtle Beach Pelicans swept the Lynchburg Hillcats in a doubleheader on Saturday from Calvin Falwell Field at City Stadium, winning game one 4-2 and game two 4-1.  

In game one of the twin bill, the Pelicans (6-11) struck first when Jimmy Herron blasted a solo homer to left in the top of the fourth inning to put the Birds ahead 1-0.
Later in the inning, the Birds extended the lead to 2-0 when Cam Balego singled to plate Luke Reynolds with two outs in the frame. Myrtle Beach added another run in the fifth inning as D.J. Wilson was brought home on a sacrifice fly from Herron to extend the Birds lead to 3-0. 
In the bottom of the fifth, Tyler Friis doubled down the right field line and Mike Rivera scored for the Hillcats to close the gap to 3-1. 
The Pelicans made it 4-1 in the sixth inning when Miguel Amaya crushed a solo homer to left, his third of the year. 
Lynchburg threatened in the seventh inning when Nolan Jones singled home a run to cut the gap to 4-2, but Manny Rodriguez struck out Oscar Gonzalez and forced Trenton Brooks to ground out to end the game.
Paul Richan (2-0) threw five innings of one run baseball to secure the 4-2 win, while Justin Garza took the loss (1-3).
The offensive barrage by the Birds continued into the first inning of game two of the doubleheader. After Balego walked, Tyler Payne drove a double into the alley in right, scoring Balego and giving the Birds a 1-0 lead. 
Lynchburg fought back in the bottom of the second inning when they loaded the bases with nobody out in the inning. Javier Assad rolled a double play ball, but Oscar Gonzalez came home to score and the Hillcats tied the game at one.
The Birds took a 3-1 lead in the fifth after Wladimir Galindo scored on a single from Balego, who then got caught in a rundown between first and second which allowed Zach Davis to score from third. 
Davis added his name to the box score again in the top of the seventh inning when he singled home Wilson to extend the Birds lead to 4-1. 
Erling Moreno (1-2) shut the door out of the bullpen. He allowed just one hit in three relief innings to earn his first win of the season.
The Pelicans have won four in a row and will look to complete the series sweep of the Lynchburg Hillcats on Sunday at 3 p.m. Alex Lange (0-2, 15.43) will make his third start of the year against Adam Scott (1-1, 3.86) for Lynchburg. 
Coverage will begin at 2:45 p.m. on the Pelicans Baseball Network which is available on the TuneIn App, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast and MiLB First Pitch app.
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].