Mt. Olive seized the lead with an epic third-inning at-bat from freshman Brian Massey. With runners at second and third and nobody out, Massey fouled off no less than 13 Carlo De La Cruz pitches before grounding to first to drive in Sam Crisp. De La Cruz then clamped down on the Trojans, retiring two straight batters to strand a runner at third.

Kinston responded in the bottom of the third, as Henry Pichardo ripped a leadoff double to left-center. One out later, Maicer Izturis singled sharply to left, scoring Pichardo to tie the game. Izturis promptly stole second and scored when catcher Josh Kale's throw bounced into centerfield and Herbie Mulqueen could not pick up the ball.

The K-Tribe padded its 2-1 lead in the fourth when Tyler Minges led off with a rocket to center. The ball caromed off the centerfield wall and skipped past Mulqueen, who chased it down and threw wildly to third, allowing Minges to score.

With Kinston up 3-1 in the sixth, Pichardo was plunked to start the frame, and Corey Smith, Cleveland's top minor league prospect, pushed Pichardo to third with a double to left. Ryan Church's single scored Pichardo, and Minges plated Smith from third when his grounder to short forced out Church at second base.

Kinston speedster Alex Requena made it 6-1 K-Tribe in the eighth. Requena singled with one out and literally stole a run, swiping second and third and scoring when Travis Weeks' throw to third sailed down the leftfield line. Finally in the ninth, after Pichardo walked and Church doubled to left, Minges drove in another run with a groundout to third to make the final 7-1.

Kinston concludes its exhibition schedule with a 7 p.m. start at Grainger Stadium on Thursday night versus Barton College. The regular season opens Friday night at 7 p.m. when the Winston-Salem Warthogs come to Kinston.

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