Myrtle Beach Pelicans Swept Wilmington Blue Rocks with 3-1 Win - Adv A, Carolina League

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com - Wilmington, DE – For the first time this season, the Wilmington Blue Rocks became the victims of a series sweep. The visiting Myrtle Beach Pelicans defeated the Rocks, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon and left Frawley Stadium with three victories during the weekend set. Starter Jason Godin pitched perhaps the finest game of his career, but wound up the loser as two ill-fated errors opened the door to three unearned Pelican runs. The Blue Rocks completed their six-game, seven-day homestand with a 3-3 mark.

Godin (2-2) set a career high and tied Blake Wood's team season-high with eight innings pitched, retiring the final 11 batters he faced before departing. The right-hander scattered five hits and struck out five. In the process, he lowered his season ERA from 4.85 to 3.82. Yet, the former Old Dominion University Monarch still wound up on the short side of the ledger.

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The day began in an auspicious fashion, as the Blue Rocks took their first lead of the series with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Anthony Seratelli led off the frame with a double to left-center field and moved to third on a groundout in the next at-bat by Matt Morizio. With Jarrod Dyson batting, a wild pitch by starter Chris Vines allowed Seratelli to cross home.

But, the slim advantage was short-lived, as the Pelicans tied the game at 1-1 with the first of their unearned tallies in the next half-inning. Godin appeared to be heading for a 1-2-3 frame in the third when a Josh Johnson throwing error allowed Travis Jones to reach first base with one out. Following a Godin wild pitch, Brandon Hicks sent a poke to left field that plated Jones without a throw.

With the game still knotted in the fifth, another Wilmington error broke the stalemate and, in effect, decided the game. Godin retired the first two men in the frame before second baseman Kurt Mertins botched a clean grounder, allowing Phillip Britton to reach. The next two men touched Godin for RBI doubles, as Robert Marcial broke the tie and Travis Jones tacked on an insurance run.

The Rocks could muster little offense against the Pelicans staff on the afternoon. Vines held the home club to a run on four hits over 4.1 innings, while the bullpen duo of Brett Butts (3-2) and Nick Fellman shackled the Wilmington bats for the duration. The Rocks scratched the relief tandem for just one hit and a walk over the final 4.2 innings.

The road awaits the Rocks, as the Blue Crew departs the Riverfront for a seven-game swing that brings them through Kinston, NC and Myrtle Beach, SC. Wilmington opens a four-game series at Kinston's Historic Grainger Stadium on Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. The slated mound matchup features a pair of righties - Wilmington ace Blake Wood (1-1, 3.29) and Paolo Espino (0-2, 8.78) for the Indians.

GAME NOTES

Prior to his eight innings on Sunday, Jason Godin’s previous career-long outing was seven innings, accomplished five times with Low-A Burlington last season. The most recent of those instances for Godin occurred on July 29, 2007 versus Quad Cities.

Jarrod Dyson went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts on Sunday, snapping his personal season-best hitting streak at seven games.

Third baseman Josh Johnson had two of Wilmington’s five base hits in the game. The switch hitter collected knocks in the second and eighth innings.

Right-handed reliever Russ Haltiwanger retired the Pelicans in order in the ninth inning.

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