The hits came early and often for the Kinston Indians, and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans couldn’t keep up in a 16-3 series-opening Pelicans loss.
Kinston wasted no time in becoming the fifth Pelicans’ opponent in 12 games to score in the first inning. The first four Indians hitters reached via base hit against Pelicans starter Jeff Locke (0-1). Tim Fedroff’s leadoff double was a sign of things to come as it was followed by three consecutive singles by Cord Phelps, Lonnie Chisenhall and Matt McBride. The Phelps knock scored Fedroff. McBride drove home Phelps and Ronald Rivas did the same forChisenhall to build a 3-0 K-Tribe lead after one.
After a pair of effective innings in which he retired the Indians in order, Locke again ran into trouble in the fifth. Again the first four hitters of the inning reached against Locke with Phelps and Chisenhall contributing RBI singles, the latter ending Locke’s day. The southpaw exited after recording just one out in the fourth and was charged with six earned runs on nine hits, again struggling with his command and walking four against just two strikeouts in a losing effort. Locke had struck out 12 combined in his previous two outings. Michael Mehlich entered the game for the Pelicans and proceeded to allow two runs on a hit while walking three and not recording an out. A walk issued to Roman Pena forced in Matt McBride, and Rivas added an RBI single to chase Mehlich. Michael Broadway stopped the bleeding for Myrtle Beach, but not before surrendering an RBI groundout to Alex Castillo
The Pelicans offense struggled especially early in the evening, going down in order the first time through the lineup against Indians starter Jeanmar Gomez (1-2) and not recording a hit Quentin Davis reached for one of his two hits on the night leading off the 4th. Gomez worked six innings for the win. Mrtle Beach plated its first run in the 5th when, with the bases loaded, Cole Miles hit a sharp grounder back to the mound. Castillo couldn’t complete the second half of the would-be 1-2-3 double-play, plunking Miles with his throw and allowing Matt Kennelly to score from second on the error.
It didn’t take long for the K-Tribe to get that run back and more. Broadway issued back-to-back free passes to Matt Brown and Rivas to lead off the sixth, and Pena crushed a three-run homer to right to make the margin 11-1. Two innings later, Castillo found his home run trot with a moonshot to left-center field that exited the ballpark.
The Pelicans crossed the plate two more times in the eighth. Miles was hit by a pitch to start the inning, advanced to second base on a Robert Marcial groundout, went to third on a bloop double down the left field line by Davis and scored on a Donell Linares RBI groundout. Davis scored Myrtle Beach’s final run on a Jason Heyward RBI single.
Six total Pelicans took the mound on the night including shortstop Randy Gress who entered for mop-up duty in the 8th. Gress worked an inning and two-thirds, allowing three runs on four hits but retiring the first two he faced in the top of the eighth. Gress worked for the first time on the mound since completing one-third of an inning for the GCL Braves on June 30, 2007. Kinston tagged Gress for three in the ninth, however, with Rivas, Castillo and John Allman contributing RBI base hits.
The middle game of the three-game set gets started tomorrow night at 7:05. The Pelicans will send right-hander Erik Cordier, making his first start of the ’09 season, to the mound while the Indians counter with lefty Eric Berger. Tickets are still available at MyrtleBeachPelicans.com or by calling the Pelicans box office at (843) 918-6000.
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