Vargas pitches gem, Hillcats score late to take series opener

Alexander Vargas throws five perfect innings, Birds still fall 2-0

Jimmy Herron reached a pair of times with a double and a hit by pitch in the loss to Lynchburg on Friday. (Larry Kave - Myrtle Beach Pelicans)

By Zach Bigley

May 17, 2019

LYNCHBURG, Va. (May 17, 2019) - The Myrtle Beach Pelicans' Alexander Vargas was brilliant in his start, but the Lynchburg Hillcats scored in the seventh and eighth innings on Friday in a 2-0 victory from City Stadium. 

LYNCHBURG, Va. (May 17, 2019) - The Myrtle Beach Pelicans' Alexander Vargas was brilliant in his start, but the Lynchburg Hillcats scored in the seventh and eighth innings on Friday in a 2-0 victory from City Stadium.

Vargas threw five perfect innings, inducing seven groundouts and eight air outs, and left after those five frames with just 51 pitches.
Ryan Lawlor (0-1) replaced him to make his Pelicans (15-27) debut. After he threw a scoreless sixth, the Hillcats (20-19) plated the game's first run in the seventh.
Nolan Jones walked to start the inning and Oscar Gonzalez doubled him home to give Lynchburg a 1-0 advantage.
They then added on with another run in the eighth on an RBI double from Jodd Carter.
Dakody Clemmer (1-0) earned the win, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen for Lynchburg.
Game two of the series against the Lynchburg Hillcats is at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. RHP Erling Moreno (3-4, 7.47) will make the start for the Pelicans against RHP Matt Solter (1-0, 1.50) for the Hillcats. Coverage starts at 5:45 p.m. on MiLB.tv, 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].