CarL1 Salem Red Sox

Kinston Steals Two Squeakers from Salem

August 12, 2010 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release


Salem, VA (August 12, 2010)- The Carolina League Southern Division playoff race dramatically intensified on Thursday night as the Kinston Indians swept the Salem Red Sox in a pair of tight games, 3-1 and 6-5 in extra innings. The two wins gave Kinston the four-game series victory and drew themselves back within two games of Salem, Myrtle Beach and Winston-Salem, who are all tied for first.

In the continuation of Wednesday's suspended game, the K-Tribe inherited a 1-0 lead in the fourth and extended that advantage to three with a pair of runs in the sixth, as Kyle Bellows laced a two-run double to put Kinston up 3-0.

Salem's offense was stagnant early on, scoring their lone run on a solo homer from Ryan Dent with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning. However, the final eight Sox were set down in order to give the Indians the victory.

The nightcap was a back-and-forth affair that saw the Indians rally from a three-run deficit to overtake Salem in eight innings. The K-Tribe jumped out in front again with solo runs in the second and third innings for a 2-0 lead.

However, the Sox battled back by scoring runs in three consecutive innings from the third to the fifth. Oscar Tejeda's third inning sacrifice fly halved the Kinston lead to 2-1, but Salem stranded the tying run on second base. An inning later, Leonel Escobar and Drew Dominguez each tallied RBI singles to surge the Sox ahead for the first time at 3-2. Tejeda and Will Middlebrooks tripled Salem's advantage with back-to-back solo bombs in the bottom of the fifth. Tejeda's 10th homer and Middlebrooks' 12th surged Salem ahead by three, yet the feisty K-Tribe was not done.

The Indians scored three times in the top of the sixth when reliever Kyle Fernandes only retired one of the five batters he faced. Bellows brought home the first run with an RBI groundout, while Abner Abreu smashed an RBI double to center to bring Kinston within one. After advancing to third on a single by Juan Diaz, Abreu tied the game on an Alex Castillo groundout off of Pat Ryan.

Salem was poised to walk-off as a winner for the second time in three nights, but pinch-runner Peter Hissey was stranded at second as Drew Hedman flew out to left to send the game, originally scheduled for just seven, into extra innings.

The K-Tribe wasted no time in extras, as Castillo roped a double down the left field line, scoring Bellows, who led off the eighth with a single to put Kinston back ahead at 6-5. Salem had runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but Middlebrooks grounded out to short to secure the doubleheadersweep for the Indians.

Bellows was phenomenal for the Indians, going 5-for-8 in the twin bill with four RBI. In the four game set, Bellows was 9-for-17, raising his average from .253 at the beginning of the series to .265 at its conclusion.

Lost in the dramatic nightcap was the performance of Alex Hassan who recorded a hit in both games, extended his hitting streak to a team-high 15 games. The Sox outfielder has reached base in 22 consecutive contests, tying Ryan Lavarnway for the most for Salem this season. Escobar saw his first action for the Sox since being called up from the GCL and went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI in his Carolina League debut.

Now in a three-way tie for first in the Southern Division, the Sox head out on an important seven-game road trip to Wilmington and Winston-Salem. The Sox and Rocks start a three-game series on Friday night in Delaware at 7:05 PM. In a pitching rematch of Wilmington's 5-4 win on Sunday, Brock Huntzinger takes the mound for the Sox against the Blue Rocks' Aaron Crow.

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Carolina League Stories from August 12, 2010


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