Birds broomed with 8-2 loss in series finale

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (July 26, 2017) - The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were swept for the first time in a non-rain-shortened series since 2015 with their 8-2 loss to the Carolina Mudcats on Wednesday night in front of 6,599 fans at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. 
Carolina (51-50, 15-18) dealt the big blow of the contest in the third inning off Myrtle Beach (55-47,12-20) starter Justin Steele (6-7). With one out in the frame, Corey Ray doubled to left-center field before advancing to third base on a wild pitch. Troy Stokes Jr. followed Ray with a walk to put runners on the corners before Isan Díaz singled to left field, scoring Ray to make the score 1-0. Jake Gatewood drew the second walk of the frame to load the bases for a Lucas Erceg grand slam, which gave the Mudcats a 5-0 advantage over Myrtle Beach.

Connor Myers led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a walk for the Pelicans. With two men retired, Robert Garcia laced a single to left field before Vimael Machin drove home Myers with a base knock to make the score 5-1. 
Carolina starter Conor Harber (3-7) tossed five innings of one-run baseball, whiffing four Pelicans, to pick up the win. 
With one out in the top of the sixth, Luis Aviles Jr. and Ray notched back-to-back singles before both runners advanced into scoring position on a ground out. Ray and Aviles both came into score on an error, allowing the Muddies to extend their lead to 7-1. 
In the ninth, Erceg notched his fifth RBI of the contest by driving home Stokes Jr. with a base hit to right field. 
Myrtle Beach scored a run of their own in the bottom half of the night as Roberto Caro drove home Myers with a double to right field. 
Jesse Hodges registered a pair of hits and reached base three times in the loss.
Myrtle Beach will look to snap their four-game skid on the road against Potomac on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. RHP Mike Rucker (3-2, 1.95 ERA) will throw for the Pelicans in the series opener against LHP Taylor Guilbeau (2-2, 4.21 ERA). Coverage will begin at 6:50 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]