Pelicans outlast Wood Ducks to win in 10

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (June 17, 2017) - A frantic Myrtle Beach rally in the 10th helped the Pelicans persevere Saturday by the Down East Wood Ducks 4-2 at Grainger Stadium.
The score was tied at two when Wood Ducks (24-44) reliever Tyler Ferguson (0-3) walked Robert Garcia , who promptly stole second. Pinch-hitter Bryant Flete hit a ground ball that kicked off the first base bag and scored Garcia, giving Myrtle Beach (42-27) a 3-2 advantage. Flete was thrown out at second on the play. Trent Giambrone then blasted a solo homer to left-center to pad the advantage to 4-2.

In the bottom of the 10th, Pelicans reliever Scott Effross walked LeDarious Clark with one out before Matt Lipka singled. However, Effross struck out Brallan Perez and induced Yanio Perez into a foul out to end the ballgame and pick up his fourth save. Myrtle Beach won for the 19th time in 24 contests, and the Birds have started June 14-2, which matched August 2016 for the best start to any month in recorded club history (through the 2005 season).
The Pelicans jumped out to an advantage in their first at-bats. Andruw Monasterio led off the game with a double and scored on an error when he was nearly caught leaving early to third base, putting the Birds up 1-0.
The score remained that way until the fifth. Myrtle Beach starter Ryan Kellogg ceded a leadoff walk to Chuck Moorman. After Kellogg retired the next two batters, Arturo Lara doubled in Moorman to knot the score at one.
Kellogg received a no-decision, despite yielding just one run on three hits in six frames - his seventh straight start of no more than three earned runs allowed.
In the eighth inning, Matt Rose popped a solo home run off Jeffrey Springs, who pitched nine innings for Down East, surrendering just two runs, one earned.
However, once again, the Wood Ducks came fighting back. Matt Lipka reached on an error against reliever Pedro Araujo (4-0) and then stole second base. Brallan Perez doubled Lipa in to tie the score at two.
The Pelicans and Wood Ducks close out the first half of the season with Sunday's 2 p.m. contest from Grainger Stadium. Myrtle Beach will be vying for their sixth straight series win with RHP Casey Bloomquist (3-4, 5.44 ERA) opposing Down East RHP Jacob Shortslef (0-1, 4.66 ERA). Coverage begins at 1:45 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].