Mudcats fall 6-1 in series finale in Myrtle Beach

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Troy Stokes Jr. hit his ninth home run of the season, but the Pelicans scored four runs in the first and two more in the seventh while taking Sunday's series finale 6-1 at TicketReturn.Com Field in Myrtle Beach. 

The loss dropped Carolina (33-29) to 3.5 games back of the first place Pelicans (37-26) and back into third place in the Carolina League Southern Division first half standings. It also clinched a Myrtle Beach series victory at three games to one and lowered Carolina's elimination down to four with seven first half games remaining.
Trey Supak started and took the loss for the Mudcats in Sunday's series finale against the Pelicans. Supak (1-1, 6.32) was immediately greeted by four straight Myrtle Beach hits in the opening frame and gave up four early runs. 
Bryant Flete started the first inning rally with a single to right and went on to steal second before scoring on a single to right-center from Jesse Hodges. Flete had three hits and scored twice overall for the Pelicans in the game.
Myrtle Beach led 1-0 before Daniel Spingola followed with a single to center that moved Hodges to third. Corey Ray played the Spingola hit in center and his ensuing throw missed short of third before bouncing off Hodges and rolling away into foul territory. The resulting error allowed Hodges to score and the Pelicans quickly had a 2-0 lead in the opening frame. Spingola was 2-for-3 with a RBI and Hodges was 3-for-5 with two runs on Sunday night.
Eloy Jiménez capped the four run first and put the Pelicans up 4-0 with a two-run home run to left off Supak in the first. The home run was his sixth of the year and his only hit of the game.
Supak followed the home run by retiring the next three he faced in the first and finished the opening frame with four runs allowed on four hits. He went on to hold the Pelicans to just two other hits the rest of the way and pitched through the fifth. In all, Supak allowed six hits, four runs, two walks and struck out five over five innings pitched.
Mike Rucker started for the Pelicans and allowed just one run on two hits over four and 2/3 innings pitched. He also walked three and struck out five, but did not earn a decision.  
Stokes had the only run of the game for the Mudcats as he hit a solo home run to left off Rucker in the fourth. It was his ninth homer of the season, matching him with Isan Díaz and Jake Gatewood for the team lead. Stokes was 1-for-5 for the Mudcats in the loss.
Reliever Tommy Thorpe followed Rucker and eventually earned the victory after retiring all nine batters faced in consecutive order between the fifth and seventh innings. Thorpe (3-2, 4.00) worked through an inning and 2/3 scoreless and was followed by Dakota Mekkes who went on to keep the Mudcats scoreless over an inning and 1/3 between the seventh and eighth. 
Mekkes escaped a bases loaded jam in the seventh and finished with three hits allowed, two walks and one strikeout in his Carolina League debut.
The Mudcats loaded the bases in the seventh, but were unable to score and later saw the Pelicans score twice more in the same frame while falling behind 6-1. Flete started the seventh with a single off reliever Brad Kuntz and scored on a single from Spingola. The Mudcats then saw another run score on a failed double play turn on a ball put in play by Eddy Martinez and the Pelicans led 6-1 after seven.
Kuntz originally entered the game in the sixth and worked through two innings with two runs allowed on three hits. Scott Grist later pitched the eighth and finished with one hit, one walk and one strikeout.
Pedro Araujo pitched the final inning and 1/3 and held Carolina to just one hit and struck out two while finishing the game for the Pelicans.
NOTES: The Mudcats were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base in Sunday's loss. They also scored just one run in Sunday's finale and did so on Stokes' homer in the fourth. Carolina scored a total seven runs over the four game series, with six of the seven all scoring on home runs.
UP NEXT: The Mudcats will continue their final road trip of the first half in Salem against the Carolina League Northern Division leading Red Sox on Monday night. The game will be the first meeting between the two teams this season. Monday's series opener will begin at 7:05 p.m. at Haley Toyota Field in Salem.

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