Hodges, Jimenez lift Pelicans to seventh straight win

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (June 8, 2017) - Myrtle Beach extended their winning streak to seven games Thursday with a 9-3 rout of the Carolina Mudcats as both Jesse Hodges and Eloy Jimenez hit home runs to give the Pelicans a victory in their series opener from TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. 
With Myrtle Beach (35-25) trailing Carolina (32-27) 3-1 in the sixth, the Pelicans would come roaring back. Jimenez jumpstarted the inning by lining a base hit back up the middle before advancing to second when Eddy Martinez was hit by a pitch. Tyler Alamo reached base on an error that allowed Jimenez to score and Martinez to advance to third. Hodges gave the Pelicans their first lead of the night with a three-run home run to left field that made the score 5-3. 

With Myrtle Beach leading 5-3 in the seventh, the Birds would continue to tack on to their advantage. Spingola and Martinez hit back-to-back singles to begin the inning. With one out in the frame, an error allowed Jimenez to advance to third and Alamo to second. The second infield error of the inning came on the very next play, and allowed both Jimenez and Alamo to score to extend Myrtle Beach's lead to 7-3. 
Spingola drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the eighth inning to keep the frame alive for Jimenez. The right-handed slugger notched his third hit of the night with a towering opposite-field home run to right to give Myrtle Beach nine unanswered runs. 
Adbert Alzolay, Scott Effross (2-1), Tommy Thorpe and Marc Huberman teamed up to strike out a season-high 17 batters in the Pelicans' 9-3 victory. Myrtle Beach's bullpen worked five shutout frames to help the Birds extend their Southern Division lead over the Mudcats to 2.5 games. The Pelicans won for the seventh game in a row, and 12th time in their last 15 contests.
In a scoreless third inning, Carolina drew first blood. Max McDowell led off the third inning with a base hit before advancing home on a two-run home run from Corey Ray. Troy Stokes Jr. went back-to-back with Ray to give the Mudcats a 3-0 advantage through three.
Daniel Spingola kicked off the fourth with a base hit to left field, and then advanced to second on a walk drawn from Jimenez. With two men retired, Spingola swiped third base, which drew an errant throw from the catcher McDowell that allowed Myrtle Beach to score their first run of the game.
Myrtle Beach will send RHP Thomas Hatch  (1-5, 4.53 ERA) to oppose RHP Jordan Yamamoto (0-0, 3.05 ERA) on Friday at 7:05 p.m. in game two of the four-game set. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on MiLB.tv, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn.
The Pelicans will host their second Fidget Spinner Friday of the season with the first 500 kids 12 and under receiving their own collectable Pelicans spinner. The night will also double as a Foodie Friday, featuring Wings-A-Palooza with All-You-Can-Eat wings. To upgrade your game ticket for Foodie Friday, please visit MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/FoodieFriday. 
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].