duke of dorwood
06-12-2002, 08:04 AM
FORT MILL - Brooks Kieschnick did the hitting early and the pitching late, and still it wasn't quite enough to produce a Charlotte Knights' victory.
Ottawa, down by four runs after two innings, scrapped back to take a 7-6 International League decision Tuesday night at Knights Stadium.
Kieschnick's two home runs and five RBIs pushed Charlotte to a 6-4 lead after three innings, but the home team couldn't maintain it. And in the seventh, with the Knights clinging to a one-run edge and nobody out, Charlotte manager Nick Capra had his hitting star take over on the mound.
Kieschnick gave up a sharp single to Joe Vitiello to tie the game. A walk loaded the bases, and then former Knight Randy Knorr lofted a sacrifice fly to center to give the Lynx the lead for good.
From then on, Kieschnick, who starred collegiately as a pitcher and outfielder at Texas, was solid, finishing with two more shutout innings. He allowed one hit and struck out three, and has yet to allow a run in five appearances.
"He signed with us with being able to pitch in mind," said Capra. "He wants a chance to maybe turn his career around a little bit by pitching."
Kieschnick has a 90-mph fastball, a breaking ball and an excellent change-up, Capra said.
Without Kieschnick, the Knights would have been buried early. With two on and two outs in the first inning, he hit a bullet of a line drive over the front fence in center field. Then, with two outs and a man on in the third, he blasted a shot out of the park to right.
That display abruptly ended a power outage that had seen Kieschnick hit one homer in 79 at-bats since joining the Knights.
"He's still a big part of our offense," Capra said. "We brought him here to produce some runs for us, and that's what he did tonight."
It didn't hold up largely because Knights starter Mike Porzio again struggled in the third inning. In four starts, Porzio has not allowed a run in the first two innings, but has been clobbered in the third. It happened again Tuesday; this time he gave up four runs, pushing his third-inning ERA to 18.00.
Ottawa, down by four runs after two innings, scrapped back to take a 7-6 International League decision Tuesday night at Knights Stadium.
Kieschnick's two home runs and five RBIs pushed Charlotte to a 6-4 lead after three innings, but the home team couldn't maintain it. And in the seventh, with the Knights clinging to a one-run edge and nobody out, Charlotte manager Nick Capra had his hitting star take over on the mound.
Kieschnick gave up a sharp single to Joe Vitiello to tie the game. A walk loaded the bases, and then former Knight Randy Knorr lofted a sacrifice fly to center to give the Lynx the lead for good.
From then on, Kieschnick, who starred collegiately as a pitcher and outfielder at Texas, was solid, finishing with two more shutout innings. He allowed one hit and struck out three, and has yet to allow a run in five appearances.
"He signed with us with being able to pitch in mind," said Capra. "He wants a chance to maybe turn his career around a little bit by pitching."
Kieschnick has a 90-mph fastball, a breaking ball and an excellent change-up, Capra said.
Without Kieschnick, the Knights would have been buried early. With two on and two outs in the first inning, he hit a bullet of a line drive over the front fence in center field. Then, with two outs and a man on in the third, he blasted a shot out of the park to right.
That display abruptly ended a power outage that had seen Kieschnick hit one homer in 79 at-bats since joining the Knights.
"He's still a big part of our offense," Capra said. "We brought him here to produce some runs for us, and that's what he did tonight."
It didn't hold up largely because Knights starter Mike Porzio again struggled in the third inning. In four starts, Porzio has not allowed a run in the first two innings, but has been clobbered in the third. It happened again Tuesday; this time he gave up four runs, pushing his third-inning ERA to 18.00.