Birds blast three home runs in win over Salem

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (August 5, 2017) - Zack Short, Trent Giambrone and Jesse Hodges all homered Saturday as the Myrtle Beach Pelicans used the long ball to power their way past the Salem Red Sox by a final score of 4-3 in front of 4,544 from TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. 
The score was tied at three when Hodges led off the frame against Salem (63-49, 23-20) starter Matt Kent (7-5) to give Myrtle Beach (59-53, 16-26) a 4-3 advantage. 

Pelicans starter Ryan Kellogg tossed 5.1 innings and allowed just three runs on six hits for the Pelicans before giving way to Jordan Minch (1-3) with one out in the sixth. With two men on base, Minch recorded the final two outs of the frame and was the pitcher of record in the game when Hodges put the Pelicans on top to earn his first career win. Dakota Mekkes pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth inning for the Pelicans before Pedro Araujo locked down his ninth save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning. 
Myrtle Beach kicked off the scoring with a bang in the bottom of the first inning as Short jumpstarted the Pelicans offense with a leadoff home run. P.J. Higgins followed Short with a base hit before scoring on a two-run home run from Giambrone to give the Birds a 3-0 advantage.
Jose Sermo led off the top of the second inning for Salem with a walk before advancing to third on a double from Jordan Betts. Sermo was tossed out at home on a fielder's choice for the first out of the inning. A Mike Meyers single loaded the bases for the Red Sox before a Jhon Nunez sacrifice fly scored the first run of the game for the Red Sox.
Sermo kick-started the Red Sox top of the fourth inning by lacing a single to left field. With one out, Austin Rei doubled home Sermo to make the score 3-2. Salem then tied the game a batter later as Meyers hit the second consecutive double for the Red Sox to drive home Rei.
With the victory, Myrtle Beach has a chance to take three of four from Salem on Sunday, which would mark just their second series win of the second half. The Pelicans have won consecutive games for the first time since July 17-18. 
The Pelicans will send RHP Duncan Robinson (2-2, 2.19 ERA) to oppose LHP Logan Boyd (1-0, 1.61 ERA) in Sunday's 6:05 p.m. finale. 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.
Sunday's contest will feature Family Sunday, meaning a pregame catch will be available to all fans in attendance and will start 10 minutes after gates open at 5:00 p.m. The contest will also include a special Postgame Fireworks Extravaganza presented by East Coast Pyrotechnics.
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].