Birds hang on in ninth inning, take series opener in Kinston

KINSTON, N.C. (July 13, 2018) - With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Jhon Romero locked down his eighth save for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on Friday night in their 3-2 victory over the Down East Wood Ducks from Grainger Stadium.
With the Pelicans (43-49, 9-13) leading 3-1 in the ninth, the Wood Ducks (44-49, 9-14) tightened the score with a Charles Leblanc RBI single. After Brendon Davis reached on an error to load the bases, Romero struck out Josh Altmann and induced a Melvin Novoa pop out to short to earn his eighth save of the season. 

Trailing 1-0 in the fourth inning, Myrtle Beach stormed back with two runs on Down East starter Joe Palumbo (0-1). Jhonny Pereda and Jared Young ripped back-to-back singles and Pereda came in to score with two outs on a throwing error to tie the game. The Birds grabbed the lead when Roberto Caro , who finished 2-for-4, smashed an RBI single, making it 2-1. 
In the sixth, Aramis Ademan doubled to begin in the inning, stole third and then came into score when the throw sailed into left field, putting the margin at 3-1 Pelicans. 
The Woodies struck first in the bottom of the first inning when Alex Kowalczyk scored LaDarius Clark on a sacrifice fly. 
Cory Abbott (2-4) earned the win for the Pelicans, tossing five innings while allowing only one run on three hits. 
The Pelicans continue their four-game series against Down East on Saturday with a 6:00 p.m. first pitch. LHP Bryan Hudson  (5-7, 5.27 ERA) starts for Myrtle Beach against Down East RHP Jason Bahr (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on MiLB.tv, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn. 
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].