Comeback falls short for Birds in 6-4 defeat

KINSTON, N.C. (April 13, 2018) - The Myrtle Beach Pelicans saw their comeback bid fall short in Friday's 6-4 loss to the Down East Wood Ducks at Grainger Stadium.
Down East (5-4) starter Jonathan Hernández (1-1) shut the Myrtle Beach (1-8) offense down, not allowing a hit in his five innings of work. The right-hander struck out six against three walks, the only baserunners the Pelicans were able to muster against him.

Chuck LeBlanc broke the scoring open for the Wood Ducks. In the second, he homered off Myrtle Beach starter Tyson Miller (1-1). After a Leody Taveras double and Alex Kowalczyk single with one out in the third, LeBlanc singled in a run to make it 2-0.
The Woodies added another run in the fourth on Blaine Prescott's home run.
WIth Hernandez out of the game, the Pelicans began to mount their comeback bid. P.J. Higgins doubled with one out in the sixth and then Vimael Machin drew his second of three walks, matching a career-high. Two batters later, Jhonny Pereda singled in Higgins to cut the deficit to 3-1.
In the seventh, Kevonte Mitchell notched a leadoff single and stole second base. Two batters later, Aramis Ademan collected an RBI single to pull the Birds to within one.
However, in the bottom of the seventh, Down East compiled three valuable insurance runs. Taveras singled and stole second with one out. Two batters later, LeBlanc doubled him in. Preston Scott then launched a two-run shot to left to widen the margin to 6-2.
Machin drew a one-out free pass in the eighth before Tyler Alamo singled. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third before Pereda hit an RBI ground out to make it 6-3.
In the ninth, an error put Mitchell on to jumpstart the frame. Pinch-hitter Daniel Spingola singled, and another error on the same play put runners on second and third. An Ademan sacrifice fly cashed in Mitchell to pull the Birds to 6-4, but Down East reliever Jacob Lemoine retired Andruw Monasterio and Higgins to pick up his first save.
The third game of the four-game set comes Saturday at 6 p.m. and pits LHP Bryan Hudson (0-1, 7.20) against Wood Ducks RHP Michael Matuella (0-0, 3.60). Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn.
The 2018 season is the 20th season for the Pelicans franchise and fourth 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. The park 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 as well. In June 2017, TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark won the 2017 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. The Pelicans have 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 emailing [email protected].