Pelicans' Hicks finds power stroke

If home runs come by accident, as Myrtle Beach's Brandon Hicks thinks they do, then he has become quite accident-prone this season.

The shortstop notched his first-ever multi-homer game and knocked in a career-high five runs as the Pelicans topped the Winston-Salem Warthogs, 9-8, at Ernie Shore Field on Monday afternoon.

"I've never had one before," Hicks said of the feat. "I was just talking to a teammate about it last week, actually, and said I never did it but I'd do it sometime this year. It happened sooner than later."

The prophetic Hicks began his historic night in the fourth inning with a two-run blast off Warthogs starter John Ely and added a three-run shot off reliever Israel Chirino in the sixth. Both shots came with two outs.

"The first pitch I hit out was a changeup, kind of down, and the second was a fastball over the plate and away," the 22-year-old Texan said. "My second home run, with guys on first and third, I was just trying to get a good pitch to drive and get the RBIs. The first one was just a 1-0 count and I got a good pitch and put a good swing on it."

Hicks, who entered the game having surpassed his total of seven homers in his first professional season last year, said his new-found power isn't the result of anything specific.

"I don't really try to work on it," the former Texas A&M Aggie said. "I think home runs come on accident. You don't really try to hit them."

In addition to being career RBI highs for a single game and a season (29), Hicks continued a hot streak in which he has hit .314 with five homers and nine RBIs over his last 10 games.

That steady improvement is exactly what Hicks is looking for in his first season in the Carolina League.

"I just try to go out there and improve everyday and get better as a player," he said. "It was a good night for me. I can build off a night like this and continue to swing at good pitches."

The Pelicans withstood a six-run rally in the final frames by the Warthogs before Ferdin Tejeda recorded the final two outs of the ninth for his first save of the season.

Ryne Reynoso (4-3) allowed two unearned runs on four hits and striking out four over six innings for the win. And Ernesto Mejia chipped in a two-run homer for Myrtle Beach.

Ely (1-6) was saddled with the loss after surrendering five runs on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts in four innings.

Brandon Allen homered and knocked in two runs and John Shelby had three RBIs for Winston-Salem.