ZEBULON, N.C. - Adbert Alzolay carried a no-hitter through the fourth and struck out four while leading the Pelicans to an 8-2 victory against the Mudcats at Five County Stadium on Saturday night. Bryant Flete was 2-for-3 with a home run and drove in two as Myrtle Beach evened the
ZEBULON, N.C. - Adbert Alzolay carried a no-hitter through the fourth and struck out four while leading the Pelicans to an 8-2 victory against the Mudcats at Five County Stadium on Saturday night. Bryant Flete was 2-for-3 with a home run and drove in two as Myrtle Beach evened the series at a game apiece.
Conor Harber started for the Mudcats (26-23) and suffered his fourth straight loss after allowing six runs (three earned) over just an inning and 2/3 pitched. Harber (1-5, 4.84) walked three in the first and four overall while also allowing three hits and striking out one on Saturday night.
Harber started the game with eight consecutive balls and two straight walks to Flete and P.J. Higgins before striking out Daniel Spingola. He then walked Eloy Jiménez to load the bases before seeing Matt Rose drive in the game's first with a sacrifice fly to right. Tyler Alamo followed a batter later with a two-out, two-run double and the Pelicans (27-23) took a 3-0 lead in the first.
Myrtle Beach struck for three more runs in the second and did so on a RBI single from Flete and back-to-back sacrifice flies from Higgins and Spingola. Lucas Erceg was charged with an error early in the second, therefore, causing all three runs to be unearned for Harber, but the Pelicans led 6-0 after two.
The Pelicans later went up 7-0 when Flete hit a solo home run off the top of the right field wall in the fourth. Flete was 2-for-4 with a home run, three runs, two RBIs, a walk and one strikeout in the game for the Pelicans.
Reliever Jon Olczak allowed Flete's home run in the fourth, but pitched through a total of four innings with two runs allowed on three hits. Olczak entered the game in the second following Harber and limited the Pelicans while the Mudcats struggled to find life versus Alzolay.
Alzolay (5-1, 2.72) cruised his way through the fourth while holding the Mudcats without a hit until Jake Gatewood broke up the no-hit bid to start the fifth. Luis Aviles Jr. also had a hit in the fifth, but the Mudcats left two on and were held without a run.
The Mudcats finally got on the board for the first time in the sixth when Troy Stokes Jr. hit a two-run home run to cut the Myrtle Beach lead to 8-2. The home run was Stokes' sixth of the season and it scored Weston Wilson who had singled to short earlier in the inning.
The Stokes home run ended up counting for the final runs of the game for either side. Brad Kuntz followed Olczak in the sixth and pitched through two and 1/3 scoreless. Quintin Torres-Costa later pitched the ninth and struck out the side for Carolina.
Alzolay left after the sixth and relievers Jordan Minch (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO), Pedro Araujo (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 SO) and Dillon Maples (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO) went the rest of the way while holding the Mudcats scoreless and without another hit.
UP NEXT: The Mudcats and Pelicans will continue the series on Sunday night with game three of the four game set beginning at 6:00 p.m. at Five County Stadium. Sunday's game will be followed by post-game fireworks presented by Sears Home Services.
Tickets to all Mudcats games are available by calling (919) 269-CATS (2287), by visiting carolinamudcats.com and by visiting the Five County Stadium box office.
The game will air on the Mudcats Radio Network, The Big Dawg 98.5 FM and carolinamudcats.com via TuneIn Radio beginning at 5:45 p.m. It will also stream live via online video at MiLB.tv.
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