MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (April 25, 2016) - Myrtle Beach Pelicans infielder Ian Happ has been named the Carolina League's Player of the Week for his efforts during the week of April 18-24, the league office announced Monday. The award is Happ's first weekly recognition at the Minor League level and the first for a Pelican this season.

The 22-year-old Pittsburgh native began the week by blasting two home runs in a 4-for-5, four-RBI game Monday at Winston-Salem - the first of six games during the week in which Happ reached base multiple times. He wound up hitting .429/.600/.905 with three home runs, eight RBIs, seven runs scored and nine walks against four strikeouts in seven contests during the week.

Rated by MLB.com as 73rd-best prospect in baseball, with Baseball America placing him 87th, Happ started the season 0-for-8 with four strikeouts and three errors in the campaign's first two games. However, since then, he is batting .357/.486/.625 with four doubles, a triple, three homers, 15 RBIs and 14 walks against 14 strikeouts in 16 games. He has made just two errors during that span.

That surge has propelled Happ into third in the Carolina League in walks (15), in a tie for third in RBIs (15), fourth in on-base percentage (.450), fifth in slugging percentage (.547) and 10th in batting average (.313).

After Monday's off day, the Pelicans head to Potomac to begin a three-game series with the Nationals. Myrtle Beach returns home for a three-game series with Salem from Friday, April 29 through Sunday, May 1.

The 2016 season is the 18th season for the Pelicans franchise and second as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For information on tickets to see the Pelicans in 2016, please call (843) 918-6000, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.

ABOUT THE PELICANS: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and play their home games at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The park has ranked in the top eight in all of Minor League Baseball by Stadium Journey in each of the last five seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences in all of sports in each of the last five years and the best in the Carolina League for five straight seasons as well. In May 2015, TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark won the 2015 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. The Pelicans are the defending Mills Cup Champions, winning the title in 2015 as well as 2000 and co-Mills Cup championship honors in the inaugural 1999 season. The Pelicans have made nine postseason appearances behind 11 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season, as well as five Southern Division titles, most recently in 2015. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or emailing [email protected].