Pelicans drop opener to Keys

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (April 5, 2018) - Three-run first and third innings on Thursday night were more than enough for the Frederick Keys to spoil the Myrtle Beach Pelicans' Opening Day at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark with a 6-2 win.
After scoring a run without hitting the ball out of the infield in the first inning, a two-run double later in the frame from Randolph Gassaway, who finished with three RBIs on the night, made it 3-0 Keys.

The third inning started with three straight singles for the Keys. Gassaway knocked in the first run with a sacrifice fly, Jake Ring lined an RBI double and Alex Murphy finished off the scoring with an RBI single of his own to make it 6-0.
The Birds fought back in the fifth. Andruw Monasterio and Aramis Ademan singled to start the frame. Following a D.J. Wilson walk to load the bases, P.J. Higgins , who went 2-for-4 to open the season, lined a two-run single to cut the deficit to 6-2.
Along with Higgins, Monasterio also had two hits on the night. The Pelicans finished with six hits as a team.
Keegan Thompson (0-1) was saddled with the loss for Myrtle Beach, going five innings while allowing six runs, five earned, while Brandon Kline (1-0) earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief. Thompson retired the last eight batters he faced.
The Birds' Casey Bloomquist ran into some trouble in the sixth on the hill, but escaped a bases-loaded jam and threw two innings without allowing a run. Chad Hockin relieved him and also did not surrender a run in two frames.
Game two of the four-game set against Frederick comes on Friday, April 6, at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. LHP Jose Paulino makes the start for the Birds against Keys RHP Cristian Alvarado. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on MiLB.tv, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn for the 7:05 p.m. first pitch.
Friday's contest is the first Beer, Brats and Baseball Friday, meaning $2 craft drafts from 6-8 p.m., and buy-one, get-one Lowes Foods sausages all evening long. On a First Reponders Friday, all responders receive half-price admission courtesy of 707 Indoor Shooting Range and Goldfinch Winslow Attorneys and Counselors at Law. Tickets are available for all 2018 regular season Pelicans' home games at www.MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Tickets.
The 2018 season is the 20th season for the Pelicans franchise and fourth as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For tickets visit MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/tickets, call (843) 918-6000, or visit the Pelicans Box Office.
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 six of the last seven seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences and the best in the Carolina League for six of the past seven seasons as well. In June 2017, TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark won the 2017 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. The Pelicans have won four Mills Cup Championships, including claims to back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000, and again in 2015 and 2016. The Pelicans have made 11 postseason appearances behind 13 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season, second half of 2016 and first half of 2017. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or emailing [email protected].