K-Tribe advances to Mills Cup championship series

Published in Sports on September 8, 2006 2:13 PM

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KINSTON -- For the third straight season, the Kinston Indians are going to the Carolina League Championship Series to play for the Mills Cup Trophy.

The K-Tribe blanked Salem 5-0 to win game two and sweep the best-of-three Southern Division Series and punch their ticket to the championship series for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

Kinston rode the back of starting pitcher Scott Lewis, who allowed just three hits in a season-high six innings of work. Lewis did not give up a run as he picked up the win. J.D. Martin completed the shutout, throwing three innings of one-hit ball. Martin struck out five, including striking out the side in the top of the ninth inning.

The K-Tribe got all the runs they needed early on, as they scored all five in the first three innings. In the bottom of the first inning, Jose Constanza led off with a single and scored from third on a wild pitch with two outs.

In the second inning, Stephen Head led off with a single and came home on an RBI single by Constanza. Constanza went 3-for-4 in the game.

Salem starting pitcher Rory Shortell was chased in the third inning when back-to-back doubles by Rodney Choy Foo and Jordan Brown made the score 3-0. Shortell took the loss, giving up seven hits and four earned runs in two innings. His replacement, Raymar Diaz, had more trouble in the third when Stephen Head unloaded for a two-run homer that scored Brown and pushed Kinston's lead 5-0.

Kinston has now won 11 Southern Division Championships in the last 20 years. The best-of-five game Carolina League Championship Series begins in Kinston on Saturday at 7 p.m. Kinston will play game two of the Championship Series on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.

The Indians will play the Northern Division Champion, either Wilmington or Frederick, whose series is tied at one game apiece.