Alzolay, Flete lead Birds by Muddies

ZEBULON, N.C. (May 27, 2017) - Adbert Alzolay dominated the Mudcats in six strong innings and Bryant Flete homered Saturday to lead the Myrtle Beach Pelicans to an 8-2 victory over Carolina at Five County Stadium.
Troy Stokes Jr.'s two-run home run in the sixth inning was the Mudcats' (26-23) only damage allowed by Alzolay (5-1). The right-hander was perfect through the first four innings and ceded just those two runs on four hits in his six frames. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. Alzolay's ERA over his last eight starts is just 2.22.

Myrtle Beach (27-23) got off to a fast start for the third straight game. Carolina starter Conor Harber (1-5) walked Flete and P.J. Higgins on four pitches each to start the game. Following a strikeout, Harber issued a free pass to Eloy Jiménez to load the bases. Matt Rose cashed in a run with a strikeout and then Tyler Alamo drove in two more with a double to make it 3-0.
Andruw Monasterio started the second with a base hit before an error put runners on second and third. Flete laced an RBI single to right before moving to second on the throw home. Higgins, who drove in two and reached three times, and Daniel Spingola followed with consecutive sacrifice flies to increase the lead to 6-0.
Flete later smashed a line drive home run over the wall in right to pad the advantage at 7-0.
With the same score in the sixth, Connor Myers doubled with one out. Two batters later, Higgins knocked in his old college teammates with an RBI single to put the Birds ahead 8-0.
The Myrtle Beach bullpen trio of Jordan Minch , Pedro Araujo and Dillon Maples each pitched a hitless inning out of the bullpen to seal the win, which put the Birds back into second place ahead of the Muddies.
Sunday's 6 p.m. contest pits Pelicans RHP Thomas Hatch (0-4, 5.45 ERA) against Mudcats RHP Jordan Yamamoto (0-0, 2.08 ERA). Coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn.
The 2017 season is the 19th season for the Pelicans franchise and third as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For information on tickets to see the Pelicans in 2017, please call (843) 918-6000, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.
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. The park has ranked in the top eight in all of Minor League Baseball by Stadium Journey in each of the last six seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences in all of sports in each of the last six years and the best in the Carolina League for six straight seasons as well. In May 2015, TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark won the 2015 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. The Pelicans are the two-time defending Mills Cup Champions, winning the title in 2015 and 2016 as well as 2000 and co-Mills Cup championship honors in the inaugural 1999 season. The Pelicans have made ten postseason appearances behind 12 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season and second half of 2016. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or emailing [email protected].