Mudcats Held To One Hit in 1-0 Loss to Pelicans

ZEBULON, N.C. - Starter Keegan Thompson and reliever Tyler Peyton combined on a one-hit shutout of the Mudcats as the Pelicans earned a series tying 1-0 victory versus the Mudcats on Saturday night at Five County Stadium.

Keston Hiura had the only hit of the game for the Mudcats (25-24) as he reached on a two-out single in the first. Thompson (2-3, 3.61) then went on to retire Tucker Neuhaus in the very next at-bat to end the first and would not allow another base runner to reach safely the rest of the way.
Thompson retired the side in order in the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings before leaving the game after reaching 81 pitches (58 strikes) before the seventh. In all, Thompson struck out eight and allowed just one hit while pitching to a phenomenal 82 game score over six scoreless innings.
Peyton (S, 3) took over in the seventh and went on to retire nine straight batters while working through three perfect frames on 34 pitches (22 strikes).
The two Pelican pitchers combined to retire 25 consecutive batters after Hiura's first inning single. They also combined to face just one over the minimum as Thompson retired 18 of 19 batters faced; Peyton retired nine of nine.
The only run of the game came in the third when Jhonny Pereda brought in Andrew Monasterio with a two-out, run scoring single off Carolina's starter Conor Harber.  
Harber (1-2, 2.04) allowed just the one run on five hits over five innings and took the tough luck loss. He also walked one and struck out three.
Reliever Chase Williams and Alec Kenilvort followed Harber and went on to hold Myrtle Beach scoreless over the final four innings of Saturday's game. Williams worked through a scoreless sixth and seventh with two strikeouts. Kenilvort pitched the eighth and ninth and scattered two hits, while striking out one over two scoreless innings.
The victory brought the Pelicans into a 1-1 tie in the four game set. It also snapped Carolina's three game winning streak.
The series will continue on Sunday night at Five County Stadium with the first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Sunday's game will be followed by post-game fireworks as part of Carolina's Memorial Day Weekend festivities. The game will air on the Mudcats Radio Network, the Big Dawg 98.5 FM and via TuneIn Radio at carolinamudcats.com. It will also stream via live video on MiLB.tv.
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