Head's homer sparks K-Tribe in opener

Published in Sports on July 9, 2007 1:47 PM

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KINSTON -- Stephen Head's solo home run, his team-leading 13th of the season, helped Kinston salvage a doubleheader against Southern Division foe Winston-Salem on Sunday afternoon.

Head's fourth-inning dinger helped the K-Tribe turn a two-run deficit into a 6-4 victory in the opener. But the Warthogs avoided the series sweep with a 5-3 triumph in the nightcap.

Trailing 2-0 in the fourth, Head broke the scoreless tie with his solo shot over the center field wall. The K-Tribe loaded the bases on two walks and Matt Whitney's base hit. An infield error allowed Wes Hodges to score the game-tying run.

Kinston broke the tie in the fifth. Another Winston-Salem error ignited a four-run inning, highlighted by John Drennen's two-RBI double.

Kevin Dixon (7-3) logged five innings and allow two runs for the mound win. Erik Stiller recorded the final four outs for his third save of the season.

The Warthogs' Matt Zeleski (3-3) took the loss.

Winston-Salem bolted to a 5-0 lead in the nightcap, but Kinston averted the shutout on Whitney's sixth-inning solo homer. Drennen's seventh-inning, two-RBI single pulled the K-Tribe within 5-3.

Warthogs reliever Ryan Rodriguez retired the final K-Tribe batter by strikeout to grab the save. Starter Garry Bakker (2-3) tossed a shutout through five innings for the win.

Sung-Wei Tseng (3-7) endured the loss for Kinston.

The K-Tribe has a two-day layoff due to the Major League All-Star break. They begin a four-game series Wednesday at Salem.