Kinston Swept by Winston-Salem on Walk-Off Homer
Published on April 18, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Kinston Indians News Release
A two-out, two-run walk-off home run by Winston-Salem's Ozzie Lewis in the ninth inning capped a heartbreaking 7-6 loss for Kinston on Sunday afternoon in Winston-Salem. The K-Tribe (3-7) was swept for the first time this season and has now dropped five straight, while the Dash (7-3) won their fifth consecutive game.
The Tribe got it going early, as Karexon Sanchez walked and Abner Abreu doubled. Sanchez would score on a sacrifice fly by Jason Kipnis. Kinston then broke a 1-1 tie in the third inning, when Kipnis tripled to lead off the inning and Nate Recknagel drove him home with an RBI ground out.
The Dash would tie the score in the third inning with three hits off of K-Tribe starter Joey Mahalic. The Dash could have taken the lead in the third, but Kinston left fielder Donnie Webb made an unbelievable, over the shoulder, diving grab on the warning track earlier in the inning.
Mahalic would run into trouble in the fourth, When Winston-Salem started the inning with three straight hits including an RBI single from Drew Garcia, giving the Dash a 3-2 lead after four innings.
A K-Tribe rally started a wild seventh inning that saw the teams exchange leads. Abreu, Kipnis and Recknagel each singled to load the bases with nobody out against reliever Tyson Corley. Webb then grounded into a double play, scoring Abreu to tie the score. Kyle Bellows followed with an RBI double to deliver Kipnis and give the Indians a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the seventh, Seth Loman hammered a two-out, two-run homer over the 25-foot wall in right-center field to give the Dash a 5-4 lead.
Kinston answered right back with two more in the eighth. With runners on second and third, Abreu hit an RBI ground out to second to score Richard Martinez. After a pitching change, Gregory Infante allowed a go-ahead RBI single to Kipnis that gave Kinston a 6-5 lead.
K-Tribe closer Steve Smith retired the first two batters in the ninth. He walked Loman, who was replaced by pinch-runner Kenny Williams, Jr. Then, on a 1-0 count, Lewis crushed Smith's pitch over the left field wall for a walk-off home run.
Smith (0-1) took the loss after his first blow save, while Infante (1-0) earned the win after 1 and one-third scoreless innings.
The K-Tribe continues the road trip with four games in Wilmington, Delaware starting Monday at 6:35 pm. Kelvin De La Cruz is scheduled to make the start for Kinston on Monday night.
Carolina League Stories from April 18, 2010
- Rolling Red Sox Flatten Pelicans, 9-3 - Salem RidgeYaks
- Keys Squeak Out Win in Series Finale - Frederick Keys
- Lewis' Walk-Off Homer Completes Kinston Sweep - Winston-Salem Dash
- Potomac Nationals Take Series at Wilmington - Potomac Nationals
- Kinston Swept by Winston-Salem on Walk-Off Homer - Kinston Indians
- Rally Cats Fall Short in Finale with Keys - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Rocks Shutdown by P-Nats - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Lynchburg Hillcats (4-5) at Frederick Keys(5-4) Sunday April 18 - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Winston-Salem Dash (6-3) vs. Kingston Indians (3-6) - Winston-Salem Dash
- K-Tribe Has Lost Four in a Row - Kinston Indians
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