MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (Interstat) — Daniel Avitia pitched five shutout innings and Alexey Lumpuy hit a three-run homer as the Myrtle Beach Pelicans defeated the Hickory Crawdads 4-2 on Friday night at TicketReturn.com Field at Pelican Park.

Avitia (2-1) allowed four hits, struck out four and walked none. Sam Mettert earned his first save despite giving up a run on one hit in the ninth inning.

Lumpuy’s home run in the third scored Jose Silva and Alexis Hernandez, putting the Pelicans ahead 3-0. Hernandez, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI, doubled in the fifth to score Darlyn De Leon for a 4-0 lead.

Hickory got on the board in the sixth on a strikeout that allowed Marcos Torres to score, then added a run in the ninth when Deward Tovar scored on a double play groundout. The game was scoreless until Lumpuy’s blast in the third.

Daniel Keaney (1-1) took the loss. The Pelicans (33-44) out-hit the Crawdads (44-33) 8-6. Attendance was 5,422. The game lasted 2 hours, 16 minutes. The four-game series between the teams is now tied at two wins each.