Clifton mows down Muddies in Myrtle Beach's 7-0 rout

ZEBULON, N.C. (August 23, 2016) - Trevor Clifton tied a career-high with ten strikeouts Tuesday as the Myrtle Beach Pelicans rolled by the Carolina Mudcats 7-0 at Five County Stadium.

Clifton (7-7) went 6.2 innings of shutout ball, allowing only three hits and two walks en route to the victory.

The right-hander's ERA dropped to 2.87, best in the Carolina League by 0.83. His ten-strikeout performance was his second of the year, with the first coming on May 12 against Winston-Salem.

The Pelicans (72-55, 36-21) got the scoring going early against Carolina (45-82, 16-41) starter Enderson Franco (5-11). In the top of the first, Andrew Ely reached on an error before Donnie Dewees doubled into the right field corner to score Ely. After David Bote singled Dewees to third, Yasiel Balaguert dropped a single into center to make it 2-0 Pelicans.  

With the score the same in the third, Bryant Flete was hit by a pitch before Franco walked Ian Rice. The next batter was Jeffrey Baez, who ripped a single to left to score Flete and increase the advantage to 3-0 Pelicans.

In the top of the fifth, Bote reached on an error before Flete doubled him to third two batters later. Rice followed by pulling a double to left to plate both runners and open up a 5-0 lead for Myrtle Beach.

With reliever Jimmy Moran on for Carolina, Dewees lined a single with one out in the sixth. After advancing to second on a passed ball, Bote delivered a double to center to score Dewees and make the tally 6-0. After a groundout and a walk, Rice rolled an infield single to third to chase home Bote and cap the scoring at 7-0.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Mudcats loaded the bases with two outs before Pelicans reliever Daury Torrez struck out J.B. Moss to end the threat. Torrez and James Norwood combined to work 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.

The Pelicans and Mudcats will meet again on Wednesday beginning at 7 p.m. RHP Preston Morrison (3-0, 2.19 ERA) gets the start for Myrtle Beach, while RHP Wes Parsons (0-1, 4.75 ERA) goes for Carolina. The Pelicans can clinch their sixth straight postseason bid with a win and Winston-Salem loss. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app, TuneIn and MiLB.tv.

The 2016 season is the 18th season for the Pelicans franchise and second as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For information on tickets to see the Pelicans in 2016, 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 five seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences in all of sports in each of the last five years and the best in the Carolina League for five 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 defending Mills Cup Champions, winning the title in 2015 as well as 2000 and co-Mills Cup championship honors in the inaugural 1999 season. The Pelicans have made nine postseason appearances behind 11 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season, as well as five Southern Division titles, most recently in 2015. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or emailing [email protected]