Effross, Martinez lead Birds to twin bill split

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (July 20, 2017) - Myrtle Beach fell 5-3 in game one of Thursday's doubleheader, but Scott Effross pitched a career-high five shutout innings and Eddy Martinez homered to lead the Pelicans to a 5-0 win over the Down East Wood Ducks in the finale in front of a sellout crowd of 6,599 at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark.
Effross (5-1) rolled for Myrtle Beach (54-42,11-15)  in game two of the twin bill. The former Indiana right-hander tossed a career-high five shutout innings and whiffed four Wood Ducks (36-60,12-15) batters in the outing, ceding just two hits and walking one. His previous career-high for innings had been 3.2.

With one out in the inning in the fifth inning of the finale, Jesse Hodges reached on an infield single before advancing to second on a stolen base. With two outs in the frame, Robert Garcia ripped a single into center field, scoring Hodges and giving the Pelicans the 1-0 lead. 
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Trent Giambrone  drew a walk with two outs against Down East starter Steven Bruce (2-2). Martinez then drilled a two-run homer to left field to widen the margin to 3-0. Tyler Alamo and Hodges followed Martinez with back-to-back singles before they both came into score on a two-run double from P.J. Higgins to extend the Birds lead to 5-0. 
Dakota Mekkes  recorded the final six outs of the contest to lock down his third save of the season, helping the Pelicans to their league-high 13th shutout.
In game one, Down East jumped all over Myrtle Beach starter Ryan Kellogg (3-7) in the first inning. Down East kicked off the contest with five consecutive hits, including RBI singles from Carlos Garay and Yanio Perez, as well as an RBI double from Preston Scott, to make the score 3-0. Luis La O added another run in the frame with a sacrifice fly to center field. The final run of the inning would score on a ground-rule double from Chuck Moorman. 
Vimael Machin led off the third inning with a base hit before he advanced to second on a single from Trent Giambrone, who reached base three times. Both Machin and Giambrone advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch before Machin scored on an RBI ground out from Martinez to make the score 5-1.
With two outs in the frame and nobody on base, Tyler Pearson , who registered three hits, and Connor Myers notched back-to-back doubles to pull the Birds to within 5-2. Zack Short delivered the Birds' third straight two-out hit in the frame with a base knock to right field to score Myers.
Scott Williams recorded a three-up, three-down seventh inning to earn his second save and give the Woodies 5-3 victory over Myrtle Beach. Grant Zawadzki (1-0) earned the win with three innings of relief.
Myrtle Beach and Down East will play Friday at 7:05 p.m. in the third game of their five-game set. Myrtle Beach will send LHP Justin Steele (6-5, 2.40 ERA) to oppose Wood DucksRHP Richelson Peña (6-4, 2.91 ERA). Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on MiLB.tv, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn.
Friday's contest is a Foodie Friday, meaning an all-you-can-eat Pig Pick'n buffet with the purchase of a Foodie Friday ticket. In addition, the first 500 fans 12 & under will receive a collectible Pelicans fidget spinner on a Fidget Spinner Friday.
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].