Win Streak Snapped At Six In Kinston
April 21, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release
KINSTON, N.C. - Riding their longest winning streak in three years, the Pelicans cruised into Kinston Thursday night for their first Southern Division road trip of the season. The suddenly rising Kinston Indians decided not roll out the welcome mat.
Led by a five-run sixth, the Indians won their third straight ended the Pelicans' longest winning streak since 2008 with a 6-2 win in the first game of four Thursday night at Grainger Stadium in eastern North Carolina.
An Indians club that entered 2011 with high expectations following a playoff appearance a year ago salvaged a .500 road trip with back-to-back wins at Wilmington on Tuesday and Wednesday but found itself down a run after the top of the first. Ryan Strausborger led off the game with a double against K-Tribe starter Clayton Cook and later scored on a Mike Olt sacrifice fly to stake Myrtle Beach to an early 1-0 advantage. Cook (1-1) barely flinched the rest of the way, not allowing another run on three hits in six innings.
Kinston trailed until its explosive fifth when the Indians saw the first seven men of their inning reach and the first five of that group score. Bo Greenwell and Abner Abreu knocked home the Tribe's first runs to give Kinston a lead it wouldn't relinquish. The Indians tallied three in the inning against Pelicans starter Barret Loux (1-1) and, after his removal with no outs, two more against reliever Andrew Doyle. Kinston added one more in the sixth.
The Pelicans never closed the gap against Cook or reliever Toru Murata. The Japanese right-hander relieved Cook after the sixth inning and proceeded to make quick work of the Pelicans, yielding just an eighth-inning run. Murata (S, 1) struck out the last five men he faced, all swinging, to close out the 6-2 victory for the Indians.
With losses by Salem and Winston-Salem in front of and behind them, the Pelicans remain a half-game out of first place in the division with game two at Kinston on Friday at 6:30. A pair of lefties will hook up for the second affair with Myrtle Beach's Robbie Ross (1-0, 0.00) taking on Kinston's T.J. House (0-1, 8.10).
Following four games at Kinston, the Pelicans return home for their first multi-series homestand of 2011 at BB&T Coastal Field hosting the Potomac Nationals and Frederick Keys from April 25 through May 1. Tickets for all Pelicans home games can be purchased by visiting the BB&T Coastal Field Box office, the Tickets page at MyrtleBeachPelicans.com, or by calling (843)918-6000 or (877)918-TIXX.
Carolina League Stories from April 21, 2011
- Hillcats Snap 10-Game Slide In Frederick - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Win Streak Snapped At Six In Kinston - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Frederick Out Hit 16-to-5 in Lynchburg Rout - Frederick Keys
- Rocks Quash Late Dash Rally, Win Opener - Winston-Salem Dash
- Slumping Sluggers Break Out In Wild Win - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Vitek Pounds Three More Hits, But Sox Fall 5-2 - Salem Red Sox
- Complete Effort Sends P-Nats to 5-2 Win in Salem - Potomac Nationals
- Kinston Wins Third Straight, Beating Myrtle Beach 6-2 - Kinston Indians
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Shelton, Corley Moved to Birmingham - Winston-Salem Dash
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes - Winston-Salem Dash
- Pelicans Game Notes - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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