Birds blank Woodies behind stellar start from Rucker

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (July 22, 2017) - Mike Rucker extended his scoreless streak to 20 innings with five shutout frames Saturday in the Myrtle Beach Pelicans' 2-0 win over the Down East Wood Ducks from TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. 
Rucker (3-2) dominated for Myrtle Beach (55-43, 12-16), as the right-hander tossed five shutout frames and whiffed seven Down East (37-61, 13-16) batters to extend his scoreless streak to 20 consecutive innings. Casey Bloomquist followed Rucker with two scoreless innings before giving way to David Berg , who pitched two perfect innings for his first save of the season. The Pelicans recorded their league-high 14th shutout of the campaign.

The only offense that was provided for either side came in the bottom of the second inning. With one out in the frame, P.J. Higgins reached second base on an error. Adonis Paula joined Higgins on base as the right-handed batter drew a walk to put two Pelicans on. A Robert Garcia infield single then loaded the bases. Roberto Caro made it four straight batters to reach with a free pass from Wood Ducks starter Jonathan Hernández (1-4) to force in a run. With the bases still loaded, Zack Short laced a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Paula to make the score 2-0.
Jose Valdespina tossed four scoreless innings of relief for the Wood Ducks after entering the contest in the third inning. 
Myrtle Beach and Down East will play Sunday at 6:05 p.m. in the rubber match of their five-game set. The Pelicans will send RHP Duncan Robinson  (1-2, 3.21 ERA) to oppose Wood Ducks LHP Jeff Springs (1-8, 4.66 ERA). Television coverage begins on The CW21 and MiLB.TV at 6 p.m. A radio broadcast will be available at 5:50 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast and TuneIn.
Sunday's contest will feature a Family Sunday, meaning a pregame on-field catch is open to all fans. Following the contest, there will be a special postgame Fireworks Extravaganza presented by East Coast Pyrotechnics Fireworks.
The 2017 season is the 19th season for the Pelicans franchise and third as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For information on tickets to see the Pelicans in 2017, please call (843) 918-6000, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.
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 each of the last six seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences in all of sports in each of the last six years and the best in the Carolina League for six straight seasons as well. In May 2015, TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark won the 2015 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. The Pelicans are the two-time defending Mills Cup Champions, winning the title in 2015 and 2016 as well as 2000 and co-Mills Cup championship honors in the inaugural 1999 season. The Pelicans have made ten postseason appearances behind 12 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season and second half of 2016. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or emailing [email protected].