Abbott strong, but Pelicans fall in sixth straight

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (June 29, 2018) - Cory Abbott tossed six strong innings for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on Friday night, but the Birds fell 2-0 to the Buies Creek Astros from TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. 
Abbott (1-3) ceded just one run over six innings while striking out seven and walking two in the loss for the Pelicans (35-44, 1-8).

Abraham Toro connected for a solo homer in the first inning to get the scoring started for Buies Creek (44-34, 7-2).
In the eighth, Osvaldo Duarte bashed a solo shot to push the Astros' lead to 2-0. 
Jose Paulino pitched well for the Birds out of the bullpen, yielding only one run over his three innings of work. He struck out three and walked one. 
Abdiel Saldana (7-0) earned the win by firing five shutout innings, striking out five and only issuing one free pass. Patrick Sandoval threw four shutout innings to earn his first save in his season debut with Buies Creek. 
Pelicans RHP Erich Uelmen  (1-0, 5.06) is slated to start Saturday's 6:05 p.m. first pitch against Potomac LHP Matthew Crownover (3-6, 5.27) to begin a four-game series against the Nationals. Television coverage begins at 6 p.m. on The CW21 and MiLB.tv. A radio broadcast starts at 5:50 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn. 
Saturday marks the fourth and final photo baseball giveaway in June as the first 1,000 fans will receive a special Pelicans managers photo baseball. In addition, it is Locals Appreciation Saturday, featuring $3 off tickets for fans with a local ID, as well as an Embrace a Veteran Saturday presented by Embrace Hospice. 
The 2018 season is the 20th season for the Pelicans franchise and fourth as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For tickets visit MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/tickets, call (843) 918-6000, or visit the Pelicans Box Office.
ABOUT THE PELICANS: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and play their home games at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Since being acquired by a group led by Chuck Greenberg during the 2006 season, the Pelicans have repeatedly set team attendance records and become known as one of Minor League Baseball's most innovative and creative franchises. The team and its employees have been dedicated to making a difference in the Myrtle Beach community, specifically giving back over $2 million in donations, fundraising proceeds, in-kind services and community service since launching the Pelicans Play It Forward Community Initiative in 2013. TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark has ranked in the top eight in all of Minor League Baseball by Stadium Journey in six of the last seven seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences and the best in the Carolina League for six of the past seven seasons. In June 2017, the Pelicans won the 2017 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. On the field, the team has won four Mills Cup Championships, including claims to back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000, and again in 2015 and 2016. The Pelicans have made 11 postseason appearances behind 13 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season, second half of 2016 and first half of 2017. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or email [email protected].