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Pink Clad Pelicans Nip Cats
$22 K Raised To Fight Breast Cancer
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The Pelicans take one last spin on the Hurricane Roller Coaster which is closing for good this summer in Myrtle Beach. The Pelicans also closed down the Hillcats at the ‘A Cure in Our Lifetime” night at the ballpark. |
On Saturday night, April 29, 2006, at Coastal Federal Field in front of a capacity crowd (5,142) the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (14-9) won their 7th straight game, and their 9th in-a-row at home, against the Lynchburg Hillcats, 6-4. The Pelicans traded out their traditional teal and black in favor of pink jerseys and played for “A Cure In Our Lifetime,” a fight against breast cancer. The Pelicans and “A Cure In Our Lifetime” raised well over $22,000 in one night with all proceeds going to the battle against the disease. The pink pitching staff combined to strikeout 10 Lynchburg hitters and the Pelicans offensive attack pounded out 11 hits in the victory over the Hillcats.
Lynchburg posted the first run of the night in the top of the opening frame when 3B Vince Rooi lined an RBI single into left field, scoring CF Nyjer Morgan who reached on an error to start the game.
Myrtle Beach answered in the bottom of the 2nd inning and tied the game at 1-1. SS Diory Hernandez led off with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch, and stole third to put himself into a position to score the tying run. With Hernandez standing 90 feet away, RF Steven Doetsch lofted a fly ball to left, which was caught, but Hernandez streaked across the plate with the Pelicans first run of the night, which knotted the score at one apiece.
Neither team was able to crack the 1-1 tie until the bottom of the 5th inning when the Pelicans bats came alive. A four-run inning began with a solo home run over the right field fence, off the lumber of 1B Scott Schade. Schade’s second homer of the year put the Pelicans on top 2-1, but that was just the start of the inning. The Pelicans went on to plate three more runs highlighted by an RBI triple legged out by LF Brandon Jones, and back-to-back run scoring doubles courtesy of 3B Van Pope, and C Clint Sammons. The scoring frenzy by the Birds stretched the lead to 5-1. In the inning the Pelicans hit for the cycle as a team, with a single from 2B J.C. Holt, the doubles from Pope and Sammons, along with the triple by Jones, and the round-tripper from Schade.
Lynchburg didn’t go away as the visitor’s scored a trifecta of runs in the top of the 7th inning to pull within one run, 5-4, but the Pelicans added some padding to their slim lead in the bottom of the 7th thanks to an RBI base hit from Sammons. The second RBI of the evening from Sammons brought the score to 6-4 and that’s all the Pelicans would need as they held on to win their 7th consecutive game.
Pelicans starter Matt Harrison (W, 3-1) was sensational in a six-inning performance that saw the southpaw yield just one run, which was unearned, on four scattered hits. Harrison fanned a season-high seven in the win, which was his third straight win. Harrison has allowed just two earned runs over his last 20 innings of work. Releivers Wes Letson, and Ralph Roberts combined to toss two innings out of the pen, while closer Zach Schreiber earned his 3rd save of the year by tossing a one-hit, scoreless 9th. With the departure of Dan Smith who was promoted to AA-Mississippi today, Schreiber now leads the active team with three saves this year. Lynchburg starter Kyle Bloom lasted 4.2 innings in a losing effort. Bloom gave up four runs on six hits.
The Pelicans were led offensively by Jones who went 3-4 with a triple, a run scored, and an RBI. Sammons knocked in two runs in a 2-4 with a double, while Holt, CF Matt Young, Pope, Hernandez, Schade, and Doetsch each added hits.
Thanks to MBBC’s Ryan Ibbotson for this capcom story & photo.
