Pelicans fall in series opener to Wilmington

WILMINGTON, De. (August 30, 2019) - The Myrtle Beach Pelicans came back from down three runs to tie the game on Friday, but fell to the Wilmington Blue Rocks 6-4 in the series opener from Frawley Stadium. 

Wilmington (81-55, 37-30) was the first team to strike, finding the scoreboard in the second inning. Tyler Hill reached on an error to open the inning and scored from first on a double from Dennicher Carrasco that made it 1-0 Wilmington. The Blue Rocks took a 2-0 lead when MJ Melendez drove in Carrasco with a single to left.
The Pelicans (54-80, 33-34) cut the gap in half in the top of the third inning. Delvin Zinn singled to lead off the frame and subsequently stole second base to move into scoring position. Carlos Sepulveda then grounded an infield single down the third base line and a throwing error from Kyle Kasser allowed Zinn to score from second and cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Blue Rocks padded their lead in the fourth inning when Hill tripled to lead off the inning and Carrasco blasted a two-run homer to center off of Javier Assad which extended the lead to 4-1. 
In the top of the fifth, the Pelicans evened the score at 4-4. Zinn doubled and advanced to third on an error to lead off the frame and came in to score on a sacrifice fly from Miguel Amaya , making it a 4-2 ballgame. Two batters later, Grant Fennell drove in Sepulveda with an RBI single to cut that gap to 4-3 and Kevonte Mitchell tied up the score with an RBI single to cap off the three-run frame. 
Ethan Roberts (L, 1-3) took over on the hill for the Pelicans in the sixth and after he tossed a scoreless inning, the Blue Rocks got to him for a run in the seventh. Colby Schultz blooped a single into right to start the inning and after the Blue Rocks loaded the bases, Michael Gigliotti grounded into a double play and Schultz came in to score to make it 5-4 in favor of Wilmington.
The Blue Rocks added on some insurance in the bottom of the eighth inning when Schultz drove in Carrasco with an RBI single and increasing the advantage to 6-4. 
Walker Sheller (W, 1-2) tossed a pair of scoreless innings out of the bullpen to earn the win for the Blue Rocks. 
The Pelicans will look to even the series at one game apiece on Saturday night at 6:05 p.m. RHP Alexander Vargas (2-4, 4.74) will take the hill for the Pelicans in game two against LHP Kris Bubic (6-4, 2.45) for the Blue Rocks. Coverage starts at 6:50 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast and the MiLB First Pitch and TuneIn Apps.
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].