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| Former Pelican Anthony Lerew helped pitch a no-hitter on the first game of spring training. |
Five former Myrtle Beach Pelicans combined on a no-hitter as the Atlanta Braves defeated Georgia Tech 12-0 Wednesday, March 2, 2005, in their spring training opener.
Former Birds Zach Miner, Daniel Curtis, Macay McBride and Anthony Lerew each worked two hitless innings before Kevin Barry finished up with a perfect ninth. McBride and Lerew are on the 40-man roster; the rest are non-roster invitees. Anthony Lerew saw last season end with a perfect game (against the Pelicans) and began this season as part of a no-hitter.
12 other former Pelicans saw action in yesterday’s exhibition. SS Tony Pena Jr. and 2B Pete Orr combined to go 4-5 and scored three runs, while SS Rafael Furcal, 2B Marcus Giles, 3B Andy Marte, C Miguel Bernard, OF Billy McCarthy, 1B Scott Thorman, LF Ryan Langerhans and LF Onil Joseph each added a hit in the Braves 19-hit, 12-run explosion. Former Pelican OF Jeff Francoeur, the #1 rated prospect in the Braves organization, finished the day 0-3 from the plate, but did knock in a run. All-in-all, 17 former Myrtle Beach Pelicans played a role in yesterday’s win in the Braves spring opener.
3B Chipper Jones and newcomer OF Raul Mondesi had solo homers, leading the offensive attack. Roosevelt Brown, fighting for a spot in the Atlanta outfield, went 2-for-2 with three RBIs.
Georgia Tech, which begins Atlantic Coast Conference play this weekend, didn’t use any of its top pitchers and the Braves certainly took advantage of that situation.
Jeremy Slayden, of the “Rambling Wreck”, made a bid for a hit in the second inning, but Gold Glover Andruw Jones made a nice running catch near the wall in right-center to preserve the no-hitter.
The season officially begins on April 7th when the Pelicans play host the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Class-A, Boston Red Sox). Get your tickets for opening day now by calling 843-918-6000 or by visiting the Pelicans web site at www.myrtlebeachpelicans.com.
Thanks to MBBC’s Ryan Ibbotson for this capcom story & photo.
