Myrtle Beach drops pitchers' duel to Down East

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (June 24, 2017) - Myrtle Beach was unable to get the offense going in a pitchers' duel that saw Mike Rucker toss five shutout innings for the Pelicans Saturday in their 2-1 loss to the Down East Wood Ducks at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. 
Rucker was terrific for Myrtle Beach (44-29, 1-2), as the right-hander dominated Down East (26-46, 2-1) by firing five shutout innings before rain chased him from the contest. Wood Ducks starter Richelson Peña also pitched five innings. 

Down East scored the game's first run in the seventh inning. Luis La O and Josh Altmann kicked off the frame with back-to-back doubles to give the Wood Ducks the 1-0 advantage.
Trent Giambrone launched his eighth home run of the season in the bottom of the seventh inning as the solo shot tied the ballgame at one. Giambrone's dinger was his fourth in the last nine games.
Preston Scott reached base in the eighth inning on a fielder's choice to setup Yanio Perez. The right-handed batter delivered with an RBI double down the right field line to hand the Wood Ducks their second lead of the contest. 
Adam Choplick (2-2) received the victory for the Woodies, by pitching two innings and allowing one run. Ricardo Rodríguez slammed the door on the Pelicans by nabbing the final six outs for his 11th save. By retiring all six batters he faced, Rodriguez has now mowed down 43 consecutive hitters for Down East.
Myrtle Beach will vie for a series split in Sunday's 6:05 p.m. contest. LHP Justin Steele (5-3, 2.32 ERA) opposes Wood Ducks RHP Jonathan Hernández (1-2, 7.07 ERA). Television coverage of Saturday's game starts at 6 p.m. on The CW21 and MiLB.tv. A radio broadcast will begin at 5:50 on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn.
Sunday's contest will wrap up Cubs-A-Palooza. The final day of the event will include a Joe Maddon-inspired Groovy Bandana giveaway to the first 1,000 fans. The night will be capped with a special Postgame Fireworks Extravaganza presented by East Coast Pyrotechnics Fireworks. 
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].