Bullpen dominates against Carolina, Birds win fourth straight

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (August 21, 2019) -  The Myrtle Beach Pelicans bullpen tossed four scoreless innings and the Birds took down the Carolina Mudcats 4-1 in the middle game of the series on Wednesday night from TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. 

After a pair of scoreless innings to open up the ballgame, the floodgates opened for both sides in the third. In the top of the frame, the Mudcats (23-35, 62-65) lurched in front when Trever Morrison tripled and scored on a Wes Rogers sacrifice fly. 
The Pelicans (31-27, 52-73) came right back and tied the game in the bottom of the third. Delvin Zinn drew a walk, stole second and scored on an RBI single from Grant Fennell that evened the score at 1-1. 
In the fourth, the Pelicans jumped in front when Kevonte Mitchell knocked the starter Matt Smith (L, 4-11) out of the ballgame with a two-run homer that gave the Birds a 3-1 lead. It was his team-high 13th long ball of the season.
In the eighth, the Pelicans tacked on an insurance run on a sacrifice fly from Jhonny Bethencourt that made it 4-1 and Ethan Roberts locked the door in the final two innings, completing the six-out save in the Pelicans 4-1 win over Carolina.
Jeffrey Passantino (W, 2-1) tossed five innings and allowed just one run on four hits while striking out five en route to the win andRyan Lawlor tossed a pair of scoreless innings and struck out four out of the bullpen as well for the Pelicans. 
The Pelicans and Mudcats will meet for the final time this season on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. LHP Brendon Little (1-1, 7.27) will take the hill for the Pelicans against RHP Wuilder Rodriguez (0-0, 9.00) for the Mudcats.
 Coverage will begin at 6:50 p.m. on MiLB.tv and on the Pelicans Baseball Network which is available on the TuneIn App, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast and MiLB First Pitch app.
It will be the final regular season home game for the Pelicans and it will be a Thirsty Thursday at the ballpark, presented by Celebrations Nitelife, Axelrod & Associates and Gator 107.9 FM, with $1 Bud and Bud Light drafts, $2 16 oz. cans and $2 Duplin wine from 5:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. There will also be a postgame fireworks extravaganza, presented by East Coast Pyrotechnics. The first 1,000 fans will receive a Ramon Sessions bobblehead presented by the Boys & Girls Clubs.
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].