Myrtle Beach 3, Winston-Salem 0
W: Trevor Clifton (1-3)
L: Thad Lowry (1-3)
S: James Farris (6)
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (May 12, 2016) – Myrtle Beach starter Trevor Clifton was slightly better than Dash right-hander Thad Lowry, and that was the difference in the Pelicans’ 3-0, series-clinching victory on Thursday night at TicketReturn.Com Field.
Clifton (1-3) struck out a career-high 10 Dash hitters, the highest single-game total for a Myrtle Beach (17-15) pitcher this season. He scattered four harmless singles and did not allow a Winston-Salem runner to reach third base.
On the other side of the field, Lowry (1-3) also submitted an impressive outing. He worked a season-high seven innings and struck out six. However, he made two mistakes, and both were against Jason Vosler.
In the second inning, the Pelicans third baseman crushed a solo shot to right field for his first long ball of the season. Five innings later, with the score still 1-0, Vosler led off with a double and scored on a Daniel Lockhart sacrifice fly. Thus, Lowry suffered a tough-luck loss even though he matched the longest outing from a Winston-Salem (12-22) hurler in 2016.
Winston-Salem’s lone scoring opportunity came in the eighth inning. Southpaw Tommy Thorpe retired all five he faced behind Clifton, but the Pelicans lifted the thriving lefty for closer James Farris with two down in the frame. Adam Engel leveled a double down the left field line to clinch his third straight multi-hit contest.
Hunter Jones followed with a well-earned walk, and the two speedsters executed a double steal on Farris’ first pitch to Gerson Montilla. However, Montilla flied out to fairly deep center, squashing the Dash’s opportunity.
In the home half, Ian Happ’s sacrifice fly plated Charcer Burks, who led off with a lengthy walk against Colin Kleven, to cap the scoring. Farris then finished off his team-high sixth save with a perfect ninth.
Thus, the Dash fell short of rattling off their fourth consecutive road series victory. Winston-Salem had not accomplished the feat since its historic 2012 season, when the club posted the best record in full-season Minor League Baseball (87-51-1).
The Dash return to BB&T Ballpark for a postgame fireworks show, presented by Goodwill of Northwest North Carolina, on Friday at 7 p.m. against the Potomac Nationals. Winston-Salem sends Jordan Stephens (0-4, 5.40 ERA) to the bump against fellow right-hander Phillips Valdez (4-1, 3.79 ERA). For fans who cannot make it to the game, pregame coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on wsdash.com/broadcast, MiLB.tv and the TuneIn Radio App.
Winston-Salem and Potomac will play at BB&T Ballpark through Monday’s 11 a.m. Education Day, and select tickets for the weekend series are still available. Guarantee your seats by calling the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visiting wsdash.com.
