K-Tribe pounds Pelicans 15-5

Published in Sports on April 21, 2006 2:09 PM

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KINSTON -- The K-Tribe offense woke up Thursday night as Kinston mashed 17 hits en route to a 15-5 victory over Myrtle Beach at Grainger Stadium.

The Indians, who came into the contest with a league-worst .229 batting average, had six extra-base hits and had season highs in hits and runs as Myrtle Beach's three-game winning streak was snapped.

Brian Barton led the way with a three-run homer in the first inning. Barton also hit a solo shot, his second home run of the year, in the eighth inning; going 2-for-4 with four RBIs and four runs scored.

Left-hander Chuck Lofgren (3-0) won his third straight start, allowing five hits and two runs over five innings. He fanned seven and gave up just two walks.

Charlie Morton (1-2) took the loss giving up seven runs in 2 1/3 innings for Myrtle Beach.

Up 3-0 in the fourth inning, the K-Tribe broke the game open when Barton scored on a Jordan Brown single to center field. Two batters later, Wyatt Toregas smashed a double to left center scoring Brown. The third run in the inning came when Micah Schilling scored on a fielder's choice. Toregas would later score on another fielder's choice, totaling four runs in the inning and a 7-0 lead.

The Tribe would score four more in the fifth inning, highlighted by five straight singles, making the score 11-2. The Indians scored two more runs in the sixth, one in the seventh and one in the eighth.

Six Kinston players had multi-hit games led by Jordan Brown, who went 4-for-5 with two RBIs.

The K-Tribe (10-4) won their league-leading 10th game of the season. Myrtle Beach fell to 7-8.

The teams meet again today at 7 p.m. for game two of the three-game series.