Pelicans sweep Dash in record-breaking night

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (May 25, 2017) - Eloy Jiménez highlighted a team-record 11-run first inning with a career-high five RBIs in the Myrtle Beach Pelicans' 11-4 rout of Winston-Salem on Thursday to complete a three-game sweep of the Dash from TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. 
With Winston-Salem (14-34) leading Myrtle Beach (26-22) 1-0 in the first inning, the Pelicans put together a historic bottom half of the frame. Trent Giambrone kicked off the rally by stroking a double to center field. P.J. Higgins walked, and Daniel Spingola  was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jimenez promptly unloaded the bases with a grand slam over the left field wall off Dash starter Luis Martinez (0-1) to give Myrtle Beach the 4-1 advantage.

Eddy Martinez would continue the offensive outburst with a single to left field. Matt Rose would be the sixth straight batter to reach base, as he joined Martinez on with a walk. Martinez would then come in to score on a Jesse Hodges single to advance the lead to 5-1. With two men on base, Andruw Monasterio walked to load the bags for the second time in the inning. Robert Garcia would drive in the sixth run of the frame with an RBI single to center field that scored Rose. The inning would continue on an error committed by the Dash that allowed Hodges to score, and Giambrone to reach first base. With the bases still loaded, Higgins laced his first hit of the frame with an RBI single to left that scored Monasterio to extend the Birds lead to 8-1. 
Eight runs would not be all, as the Pelicans would score three more runs in the first frame. The first out of the inning would be recorded on an RBI ground out from Spingola that scored Garcia from third. Jimenez registered his fifth RBI of the inning with an opposite field single to plate Giambrone. The final run of the inning would be brought in by Martinez, who lifted his second hit of the frame to left field to bring Higgins.
Myrtle Beach's 11 runs were the most the club has scored in any inning in recorded team history (through the 2005 season).  
Before the onslaught of runs scored by the Birds in the bottom of the first, Winston-Salem jumped out to the early advantage. With one out in the frame, Zack Collins doubled off of the right field wall. The very next batter, Luis Alexander Basabe, drove in Collins with a base hit to left field, which gave the Dash the early 1-0 edge. 
With the score 11-1, the Dash would add a couple in the third. Danny Mendick led off the frame with a base hit before scoring on a two-run home hit by Johan Cruz, which made the score 11-3. 
Both offenses would remain stagnant until the eighth. The switch-hitting Basabe reached base on a single before advancing to second on defensive indifference and then third, as he swiped his 10th stolen base of the season. Basabe would finish off his circuit on the base paths, as he scored on a passed ball to make the score 11-4. 
Pelicans starter Oscar De La Cruz (4-2) was terrific, as he tossed 5.2 innings and allowed just three runs while striking out a season-high 10. Mike Rucker came out of the bullpen for Myrtle Beach. The right-hander tossed a career-high 3.1 innings and allowed just one run en route to his first save of the season. Rucker secured the Birds' 11-4 victory over Winston-Salem to complete the three-game sweep. 
The Birds will kick off a four-game set on the road with the Carolina Mudcats Friday at 7 p.m. as LHP Ryan Kellogg (1-2, 5.06 ERA) will go for Myrtle Beach against Carolina RHP Corbin Burnes (4-0, 1.00 ERA). Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn.
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].