Rocks Top Pelicans For Eighth Straight Time

Myrtle Beach, SC - The Wilmington Blue Rocks never trailed on Saturday as they beat the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 4-1 at TicketReturn.com Field. Josh Mitchell earned the victory in relief for the Blue Crew who have now won three straight and four of their last five. 

Wilmington jumped out to an early lead courtesy of three runs in the third inning. Brewer Hicklen  reached on an error that allowed Ricky Aracena  to come home. Then Dennicher Carrasco and Cristian Perez  each came through with run-scoring singles later in the frame. Tyler Hill added an insurance run in the eighth when he scored on a wild pitch. 
Myrtle Beach responded with a run in the home-half of the third against Blue Crew starter Austin Cox. Zac Taylor roped a two-strike double to center that brought in Aramis Ademan. 
Mitchell entered out of the bullpen with one out in the bottom of the third and tossed 3.1 scoreless frames to pick up the victory for Wilmington. The southpaw fanned three and walked just one as he held the opponent without a run for the sixth time in his last eight outings. 
Tad Ratliff  worked his way out of a first-and-third, one-out jam in the ninth to nail down his 21st save of the season.
The Rocks conclude their six-game road trip at Myrtle Beach on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. Fans can catch all of the action with the Voice of the Blue Rocks, Cory Nidoh, on 89.7 WGLS-FM. 
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
Four has been the magic number for the Blue Rocks in 2019. When Wilmington scores four or more runs the team is 42-7, but when the offense produces three tallies or fewer they are just 26-42.
Wilmington has exceled on the road this season. The Rocks are 37-24 away from the friendly confines of Frawley Stadium, which is the second-best road record in the Carolina League. One of the reasons for Wilmington's success in away games has been its ability to hit for power. The Blue Crew have hit 42 of their 51 homers this season outside of the First State.
The Blue Rocks won their eighth consecutive meeting with Myrtle Beach on Saturday. Wilmington dropped its first games against the Pelicans in 2019 and have not lost since. The eight-game streak equals the Blue Crew's longest winning streak against an opponent this year. Wilmington also was victorious eight straight times against Carolina at one stage in 2019.