CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

K-Tribe Power Surge Takes Rubber Game

April 25, 2010 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Series victories are everything in baseball, and Sunday in Kinston, the Pelicans and Indians matched wits trying to each complete a first for the 2010 season. For Myrtle Beach, it was an attempt at their initial road series win; for Kinston, a shot at their first series period.

The Indians put aside any notions of a Pelicans road series victory early, rolling to a 15-2 drubbing of Myrtle Beach in the series finale of three at Grainger Stadium behind six Sunday home runs, three of them coming in a four-run seventh.

Myrtle Beach has claimed four of its five wins this season in games in which their opponent scored first, so things looked alright after a two-run K-Tribe second put the home team in the lead. Doug Pickens cranked his first home run of the season, a one-out solo shot, and the Indians followed it with an RBI single by Karexon Sanchez. In the top of the third, though, Myrtle Beach responded with a run to halve the Kinston advantage. The first four in the Pelicans third reached with singles by Cole Miles, Yoel Campusano, and Gerry Rodriguez as well as Matt Kennelly who reached on a fielder's choice. Miles was caught stealing for the inning's first out, but Campusano scored on Rodriguez's base hit to make it a 2-1 score.

In the third, though, it was the Indians who took over. Kinston loaded the bases to open the inning on two walks and a bunt single by three-hole hitter Jason Kipnis. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Abner Abreu swatted a two-run double off Pelicans starter Cole Rohrbough to bring home two and send Nate Recknagel to third. Pickens brought Recknagel home with a sacrifice fly, and right behind him, Roman Pena belted his first jack of the season, a two-run shot to make it a 7-1 Kinston lead. Two batters later, with two gone and the bases empty, Adam Davis matched the feat, a solo homer his first of 2010 to make it 8-1. Rohrbough (0-2) departed after the third charged with eight runs - all earned - on eight hits.

An inning later, the K-Tribe's onslaught continued. Lucas Montero and Kipnis singled and walked to kick off the fourth, going to scoring position on a one-out Abreu walk. Pickens singled to score Montero, and Pena's sacrifice fly plated Kipnis to break double digits and give Kinston a 10-1 margin. The charge continued later. In the bottom of the seventh, Davis took the first pitch he saw from Pelicans reliever Juan Abreu out to center field for his second homer of the afternoon. Two pitches after that, Karexon Sanchez did the same, going to left-center for his first longball of 2010. Recknagel added another two-run jack two batters later, his second of the series, to make it a 14-1 lead. In the series, eight different K-Tribe players cranked their first home runs of the season, and Kinston, which entered the series with one homer as a team through its first 14 games, hit nine total in the three-game set against Pelicans pitching. Kinston's three homers in the seventh inning marked their first three-homer frame since May 12, 2007 against Potomac. The six homers for Kinston completed their first such contest since June 8, 2007 also against the Pelicans. The Indians added another run in the eighth to complete their scoring.

Cole Miles, Myrtle Beach's designated hitter on Sunday afternoon, went 4-for-5 with an RBI single in the ninth to score Chris Shehan and make the final margin 15-2. After starter Nick Hagadone departed following three innings of one-run ball, reliever T.J. McFarland (2-0) picked up the win for Kinston with six innings of the same. He retired the Pelicans in order in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth innings.

Tuesday evening, the Pelicans return to BB&T Coastal Field for the first of a six-game homestand against the Potomac Nationals and Frederick Keys. Tuesday night is the second installment of the Pelicans' Team Tuesday Poster Series giveaways to the first 1,000 fans at the ballpark. Webkinz Wednesday is back the following night with an elephant Webkinz to be handed out to the first 500 fans ages 12 and under. The series opens with a matchup of right-handers on Tuesday night as Myrtle Beach's J.J. Hoover (0-1, 5.52) will square off with Potomac's Patrick Lehman (0-0, 7.07) at 7:05.

Single game and season tickets, flex books, and mini-plans, are available now through the Pelicans Box Office by calling (843) 918-6000 or (877) 918-TIXX or by visiting the Tickets page at MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.

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Carolina League Stories from April 25, 2010


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