MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Myrtle Beach Pelicans used a dominant start from Paul Richan to edge the Carolina Mudcats 4-1 on Monday from TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark.
The Pelicans (6-6, 27-52) did not waste time getting to Aaron Ashby (L, 1-2) in the series opener. After back-to-back walks to begin the bottom of the first inning, the Birds executed a double steal with Zach Davis and Jimmy Herron on the basepaths to set up Carlos Sepulveda who drove in the games first run on a sacrifice fly.
Carolina (6-6, 45-36) evened the ballgame at one run a piece in the top of the second inning when Trever Morrison lashed a double down the left field line to score Eddie Silva from second.
Myrtle Beach responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second. Grant Fennell led the inning off with a single and after a walk to Kevonte Mitchell , Yeiler Peguero laid down a sacrifice bunt to send the runners second and third with one out in the frame. Davis then brought in a run on an RBI groundout that made it 2-1 and the Birds added another when Mitchell scored after an error and the Birds took the lead to 3-1.
In the fifth, the Pelicans extended the lead to 4-1 when Miguel Amaya came in to score after a pair of errors from Carolina.
Paul Richan (W, 8-3) was lights out for Myrtle Beach tonight. The righty went a career-high seven innings and allowed just a run on four hits and tied a career best with nine strikeouts to earn his eighth win of the year.
After Manuel Rondon tossed a scoreless eighth, Garrett Kelly retired the side in order for the Pelicans and earned his third save of the year in the Birds 4-1 win.
The Pelicans will look to win the series on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. LHP Ryan Kellogg (1-5, 4.80) will take the hill for the Birds against RHP Nelson Hernandez (8-5, 4.72) for the Mudcats. Coverage will begin at 6:50 p.m. on MiLB.tv and on the Pelicans Baseball Network which is available on the TuneIn App, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast and MiLB First Pitch app.
