Pelicans Return To Winning

July 18, 2009

The Pensacola Pelicans earned a victory as the Saints came marching into Pensacola Friday night. St. Paul put up two runs early, but Pelicans’ starter Randy Beam shut down the Saints through the eighth inning. Hunter Davis picked up his thirteenth save by pitching a scoreless ninth as the Pelicans scored five runs in the game to win.

Josh Alley singled in the top of the first and then stole second base. With one out, Jake Butler hit a base knock as well, and Brent Krause followed with a double that scored both runners.

Pensacola cut the Saints’ lead in half with a run in the bottom of the third. Antoin Gray led off with a single, and Francisco Leandro hit one too that moved Gray to third. Mark Moriarty hurled a wild pitch that allowed Gray to score and the Pelicans were on the board.

The Pelicans tied the game and more in the bottom of the fifth. Chase Burch hit his team-leading thirteenth double on the year to lead off the frame. He moved to third on a groundout to the shortstop by Marcos Rodriguez, and scored when Luis Guance hit a sacrifice fly to right field.

The Pelicans used a two-out rally to take the lead when Rafael Alvarez walked and scored on a Lester Contreras two-bagger. Adam Deleo followed with a base hit to score Contreras and the Pelicans led 4-2.

Pensacola added another run in the bottom of the eighth. Former Major-Leaguer Kerry Ligtenberg allowed Adam Darby to reach first and second base on an error by the first baseman. Darby was held at third on a single by Francisco Leandro, but scored on a sacrifice fly by Chase Burch.

Randy Beam pitched eight innings, allowing both earned runs on five hits, striking out six and yielding just two walks. Hunter Davis walked one and struck out one in the top of the ninth.

The Pelicans had three batters collect multiple hits, as Leandro and Burch went 2-3, and Adam Deleo finished the evening 2-4. Burch and Contreras each hit a double, and Luis Guance stole two bases. Alvarez and Darby also had a swiped-base each.

The Pelicans and Saints return to action on Saturday, as the 6:05 p.m. first pitch will pit LHP Jason Navarro against the Saints’ RHP Tom Buske. After Saturday’s game is concluded, the Pelicans will host a fireworks extravaganza above Jim Spooner Field at Pelican Park. Tickets are available at Pensacola-area Circle K locations and start as low as $7. Tickets are also available online at www.pensacolapelicans.com, and in-person at Pelican Park on the day of the game.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Sports