MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (July 3, 2019)- In front of a sellout crowd of 6,599 fans at TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark, D.J. Wilson blasted a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning to send the Myrtle Beach Pelicans to their second sweep of the year with a 4-2 win over the Carolina Mudcats.
Trailing 2-1 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, the Birds (8-6, 29-52) rallied to score three runs to take the lead over the Carolina Mudcats (6-8, 45-38). Kevonte Mitchell led the inning off with a single before Wilson launched his fourth homer in the last week, a two-run bomb to left, that gave the Pelicans a 3-2 lead in the eighth. The Pelicans added on another run in the frame on an RBI single from Tyler Durna that made it 4-2 Myrtle Beach.
The Pelicans put themselves on the scoreboard in the fourth inning as they got to Carolina’s starter Noah Zavolas for one run. Delvin Zinn led the inning off with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a groundout before Miguel Amaya drove him in on a sacrifice fly to put the Pelicans in front 1-0.
Carolina responded in the top of the sixth inning when Ryan Aguilar reached on an error and later scored on a single from Tristen Lutz off of Erich Uelmen who surrendered just the one run in his seventh start of the year.
Uelmen tossed 5.2 innings and allowed one unearned run on four hits and struck out four in a no-decision.
With the game tied at one heading into the eighth inning, Carolina took the lead in the top half of the frame.
After Wes Rogers walked to lead off the inning, the speedster scored on a double from Mario Feliciano off of Erling Moreno (W, 5-5) that gave the Mudcats a 2-1 lead before the Birds scored three in the bottom of the eighth inning off of Matt Hardy (L, 7-1) to retake the lead 4-2.
The Pelicans turned to Garrett Kelly in the ninth inning and he locked up his fourth save of the year as he threw a scoreless frame that helped the Birds seal the series sweep over the Carolina Mudcats with a 4-2 win.
Myrtle Beach has now won eight of their last nine games and they have taken over sole possession of first place in the Carolina League Southern Division.
The Birds will look to continue their hottest stretch of the season as they meet with the Lynchburg Hillcats on July 4th to open up a three-game series on the road.
Myrtle Beach will send RHP Erick Leal (0-1, 5.55) to the hill against LHP Juan Hillman (3-7, 3.05) for the Hillcats in a game that will start at 6:00 p.m. from City Stadium in Lynchburg, VA. Coverage will begin at 5:45 p.m. on the Pelicans Baseball Network which is available on the TuneIn App, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast and MiLB First Pitch app.
Courtesy: Myrtle Beach Pelicans