K-Tribe rallies past Nationals

Published in Sports on June 1, 2007 1:48 PM

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WOODBRIDGE, Va. -- Chris De La Cruz and Max Ramirez connected on RBI hits in the seventh inning and Kinston rallied past Potomac 9-5 on Thursday evening.

De La Cruz scored on a sixth-inning wild pitch to pull the K-Tribe within 5-2. In the seventh, Nathan Panther led off with a double and Mike Butia drew a walk. That set the table for Josh Rodriguez, who pounded out a two-RBI double.

Down 5-4, De La Cruz doubled home Rodriguez. Kinston forged ahead 6-5 when Ramirez's two-out double scored De La Cruz. Ramirez is hitting .530 with runners in scoring position and two outs on the board.

The K-Tribe notched season highs in doubles (eight) and extra-base hits (nine), including Michael Aubrey's first-inning, solo home -- his third in eight outings.

Kinston reliever Eric Stiller tossed three innings of two-hit ball and improved to 2-0 on the mound. Matt Meyere threw a perfect eighth and ninth for the save. Left-hander David Huff started and yielded a season-high five earned runs in four innings.

Potomac's Carlos Martinez (1-4) suffered the pitching loss.

The teams continue their four-game series today at 7:35 p.m. Ryan Edell is scheduled to pitch for Kinston.