K-Tribe roundup

Published in Sports on August 11, 2004 1:55 PM

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MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- For the second straight night, Myrtle Beach had an opportunity to gain ground on Winston-Salem in the Single A Carolina League Southern Division standings, but Kinston played spoiler and claimed a 4-2 win.

The K-Tribe, who have not trailed the Pelicans through the first two games of the series, started the scoring in the bottom of the second when catcher Javy Herrera hammered his third home run of the season over the left-field wall.

Herrera's blast set off a chain reaction among his teammates.

Designated hitter Shaun Larkin singled, third baseman Rodney Choy Foo followed with a single and then second baseman Eider Torres drove in Larkin with a single up the middle. Kinston led 2-0.

Myrtle Beach catcher Miguel Bernard doubled off the left-field wall to start the third inning. A sacrifice bunt by shortstop Luis Hernandez advanced Bernard to third with one out. Center fielder Gregor Blanco singled up the middle, scoring the Pelicans' first run of the evening.

The K-Tribe struck back in the fourth with two more runs, extending their lead to 4-1. An RBI groundout from Choy Foo made the score 3-1 as Herrera came in to score from third after reaching with a single. The fourth and final Kinston run was put on the board when Torres ripped a base hit and drove in his second run of the night. Left fielder John Van Every, who reached after knocking a single, scored on the hit.

Myrtle Beach attempted a comeback in the eighth as the speedy Blanco tripled with two outs and a batter later came in to score when first baseman Isaac Iorg singled through the left side of the infield, cutting the lead to 4-2.

Kinston starter Derrick Van Dusen (4-0) remained perfect as he was nearly untouchable against the Pelicans. Van Dusen hurled seven innings and only allowed two hits and one run, while fanning eight in the winning effort. Closer Matt Davis tossed the final two innings to earn his fourth save of the season.

Myrtle Beach starter Matt Wright (4-6) lasted four innings and allowed four runs on eight hits, as he took the loss.

Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. today.

Tupman, Pauly receive CL honors

PHILADELPHIA -- The Sports Network has tabbed Wilmington catcher Matt Tupman and Potomac hurler Thomas Pauly the Carolina League Players of the Week ending Sunday, Aug 8.

The 24-year old Tupman led the league in hitting (.471) and on-base-percentage (.550) to go along with a slugging percentage of .588.

The New Hampshire native made the most of his opportunities last week. He hit safely in four of the five games he played and had two hits in each of those games for the BlueRocks, who after losing their first two games of the week, have reeled off four straight wins.

Tupman is batting .297 for the BlueRocks this season with three home runs and 25 RBI.

There were several outstanding performances last week however, for pure consistency over two starts, Pauly gets the nod with a 1-0 record and a 0.00 ERA. In 12 innings, he allowed just five hits and one run, striking out 13 and walking just one batter. As a result, he held his opponents to a .122 batting average.

The Florida native defeated Lynchburg Tuesday night, 8-1. In that game, Pauly allowed just one hit, striking out seven and walking just one batter over six innings. With the win, he raised his record to 7-6 on the season.

In his next start, also against Lynchburg, Pauly allowed only four hits and one unearned run in six innings. He struck out six batters and did not yield a walk. His teammates rallied for three runs after he left so he was left with a no decision.

There were definitely some honorable mentions, starting with Fernando Nieve of Salem, who cranked up a complete-game 1-0 shutout of Frederick Sunday night, Wilmington's Kahi Kaanoi and Dusty Hughes as well as Kinston's Brian Slocum.