Wood Ducks come from behind to down Birds in series opener

KINSTON, N.C. (April 8, 2019) - Despite a four-run first inning by the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on Monday night, the Down East Wood Ducks came back to throttle the Birds 12-4 from Grainger Stadium. 

In the top of the first inning with runners on the corners, the Pelicans (1-4) found the scoreboard first with a two-run double from Luke Reynolds . Kevonte Mitchell then made it 4-0 with a two-run blast, his first of the season. 
The Wood Ducks (3-2) started to chip away at starter Erling Moreno (0-1) in the bottom of the first. Eric Jenkins popped a solo home run to lead off the frame and Tyreque Reed was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 4-2 Pelicans. 
In the third, Down East took the lead for good when the ninth-place hitter Yonny Hernandez hit a three-run double to left, staking the Woodies to a 5-4 lead. With the very next batter up, Hernandez scored on a wild pitch to give Down East a 6-4 advantage. 
In the bottom of the fourth, the Wood Ducks exploded for six more runs. Diosbel Arias ripped an RBI single, Ryan Dorow added a two-run base hit and Yohel Pozo capped the inning with a three-run home run, making it 12-4. 
Alex Eubanks (1-0) fired 2.1 scoreless innings in relief, striking out three while walking one, to earn the win for Down East.
Myrtle Beach and Down East meet in the second game of series games at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The Birds will send LHP Luis Lugo (0-0, 0.00) to the mound. Coverage begins at 6:45 on MyrtleBeachPelicans.Com/Broadcast and the First Pitch App.
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].