Jodd Carter and Daniel Salters each hit solo home runs to right field, but the Myrtle Beach Pelicans belted two home runs as well and never trailed en route to a 4-2 victory over the Lynchburg Hillcats Thursday night at City Stadium.
After each starting pitcher tossed a perfect first inning, Myrtle Beach scored three runs on four hits in the second to take the lead. Eddy Martinez opened the frame with a base hit, and Trent Giambrone homered to right field to plate the first two runs of the contest. Two batters later, Daniel Spingola cleared the right-field fence to give the Pelicans a 3-0 advantage.
Carter provided the first Hillcats run of the season with an opposite-field home run to right field to lead off the third frame. Sam Haggerty singled, and Andrew Calica walked with one out, but the Hillcats failed to push another run across. Lynchburg’s final tally came with two outs in the fourth when Salters drove a ball far beyond the right-field fence to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Myrtle Beach stretched the margin to 4-2 with a walk and a pair of base hits in the seventh. Adbert Alzolay (1-0) earned the win after striking out five in five innings. He only surrendered three hits, though two of them were homers. Matt Esparza (0-1) took the loss after giving up three runs on six hits in four frames. Scott Effross struck out four of the five batters he faced to notch a save on Opening Day.
The Hillcats will look to even their record Friday night at 6:30 p.m. Thomas Pannone will take the mound for Lynchburg against Thomas Hatch of the Pelicans. It’s the first FANtastic Friday Giveaway, and the first 1,000 fans will receive a schedule magnet courtesy of Nadine Blakely, realtor, and WYYD. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., and the game can be heard live on www.lynchburg-hillcats.com.
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Chris Graham
