Myrtle Beach nipped 3-1 in rubber match

WILMINGTON, Del. (May 17, 2018) - Nick Heath's two-run inside-the-park home run in the eighth inning Thursday lifted the Wilmington Blue Rocks over the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 3-1 at Frawley Stadium.
The score was knotted at one when Chris DeVito singled against Myrtle Beach (16-24) reliever Bailey Clark (0-1) to begin the eighth inning. Two batters later, Heath hit a blooper down the left field line that caused Pelicans left fielder Kevonte Mitchell and shortstop Aramis Ademan to collide, leading to the go-ahead inside-the-park home run to put Wilmington (17-22) ahead 3-1.

The Blue Rocks plated the contest's first run in the third inning. With two outs, Heath singled and stole second before scoring on D.J. Burt's RBI double. 
That was the extent of the damage against Myrtle Beach starter Alex Lange , who ceded just one run on two hits in five innings. The right-hander struck out two and walked one in a no-decision.
Unfortunately for the Pelicans, Wilmington starter Ofreidy Gomez was just as effective. The Birds' only offense came in the fifth inning. Ademan started the frame with a base hit before swiping second. Two batters later, Connor Myers doubled him in to knot the tally at one.
After Gomez pitched five innings of one-run ball, Grant Gavin pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen for Wilmington. Josh Mitchell (1-0) earned the win with a blank eighth, and Bryan Brickhouse fired a perfect ninth for his seventh save.
Myrtle Beach begins a three-game series at Frederick with Friday's 7 p.m. contest. RHP Matt Swarmer (3-2, 2.51 ERA) takes the bump for the Birds against Keys RHP Cristian Alvarado (4-3, 4.28 ERA). Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, TuneIn and the MiLB First Pitch app. 
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. The park 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 as well. In June 2017, TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark won the 2017 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. The Pelicans have 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 emailing [email protected].