Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - Fans saw an amazing finish to the 2004 Carolina League season as the Kinston Indians rallied to win the final three games of the championship series and defeat the Wilmington Blue Rocks three games to two. After being outscored 14-1 in the first two games, Kinston allowed just two runs over the final three games, including a shutout in game four that tied the series. The Indians beat Winston-Salem in three games in the first round of the playoffs while Wilmington squeaked past Potomac, also in three games. This was Kinston's fifth Carolina League title.

FREDERICK KEYS - There was not much to cheer about this season for the Keys, beginning with a horrendous first half that saw them finish at 20-49. With an overall record of 52-87, Frederick ended the season in last place of the Northern Division and 25 games behind first place Wilmington. BJ Littleton had a solid year at the plate as he batted .294 with 18 doubles and scored 56 runs. Littleton placed in the top ten in triples with six and also in stolen bases with 22. Tripper Johnson and Cory Keylor both put up big power numbers as they finished in the top ten in home runs with 21 and 17 round-trippers, respectively. Johnson added a team-best 74 RBI while Keylor was right behind him with 72. Finishing last in the league with a 5.10 ERA will not help any team win games. Hayden Penn and Chris Ray finished the year with a very respectable 3.80 ERA. Penn did not receive much run support in his outings, totaling a 6-5 record in 13 starts while Ray faired a little better, amassing a 6-3 record, including one complete-game shutout, in 14 starts. Reliever Tony Neal finished fifth in the league with 18 saves.

KINSTON INDIANS - The Indians rode their league-best 88-50 overall record straight through to the Carolina League championship, with one little speed bump along the way. After losing the first two games of a best-of-five final series and being outscored 14-1 in those two games, Kinston used strong pitching and timely hitting to win the final three games and take their fifth title. JD Martin had a solid 2004 campaign and brought his best stuff to the postseason, tossing a complete-game, four-hit gem in the deciding game on his way to being named the MVP of the championship series. Martin compiled an 11-10 record with a 4.39 ERA and led the team with 147 2/3rd innings pitched during the year. Also on the hill, Brian Slocum and Keith Ramsey both finished in the top 10 in wins along with Martin. Slocum led the league with 15 victories compared to just six losses while Ramsey finished with a 10-4 record and an impressive 3.86 ERA. On the offensive side, Pat Osborn killed Carolina League pitching, hitting at a .342 clip, first in the league, in his 86 games. Osborn roped six triples, 10 home runs, and knocked in 55 runs as well as leading the league with a .424 on-base percentage. John van Every contributed to Kinston's .269 team average and amazing 724 runs scored as he hit .276 and drove in 71 runs, good for ninth in the league.

LYNCHBURG HILLCATS - After finishing in second place of the Northern Division in the first half of the season, 2 1/2 games behind Potomac, the Hillcats fell apart in the second half of the season, going 22-46 and falling to last place. Offensively, Lynchburg had some standout seasons with Rajai Davis and Brad Eldred ranking amongst the top ten in average. Davis was an excellent catalyst, batting .314 (2nd) with 160 hits (1st), 91 runs scored (1st), and 57 stolen bases (1st). Eldred, the 2004 Carolina League Most Valuable Player, also put together a solid year, batting .310 (3rd) with 21 home runs (4th) and 77 RBI (4th). On the mound, Nick Gravelle was a victim of poor run support as he posted a 3.62 ERA, eighth best in the league, but tallied just a 5-10 record. He was second in innings pitched with 151 2/3rd and seventh in strikeouts with 109. Zach Duke, the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league pitcher of the year and 2004 Carolina League pitcher of the year, was superb for Lynchburg before his call up to Double-A Altoona. Duke went 10-5 with a 1.39 ERA in 17 starts before the promotion. He fanned 106 batters compared to just 20 walks in 97 innings pitched.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS - With a strong first half (40-28) the Pelicans were on their way to an impressive 2004 season before .500 baseball hit them in the second half (35-35) and they could not grab a playoff spot. Pitching did not seem to be a problem as they posted the second best team ERA at 3.44 but the offense never seemed to come around and they finished with a .257 average, second-worst. Starting pitcher Blaine Boyer pitched well all season, boasting an astounding 2.98 ERA, remarkably only sixth-best in the league. Boyer went 10-10 in 28 starts, a good example of the season long offensive woes. Boyer also led the league with 154 innings pitched. Matt Wright's 4-6 record was also a product of the offensive slump as he posted a solid 3.39 in 21 starts. He finished second in strikeouts with 133 but ranked third in walks with 58 free passes. Jeff Francoeur paced the weak offense with a .293 average with 26 doubles, 15 home runs, and 52 RBI. Brian McCann also put up some pretty impressive power numbers, totaling 35 doubles, 16 home runs, and driving in 66 runs, tops on the team in all three categories.

POTOMAC CANNONS - The Cannons earned a playoff berth by finishing atop the Northern Division in the first half of the season with a 37-32 record. The second half was not so kind as they finished in third place with a 30-40 record, 67-72 overall. They were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by Wilmington in three games. Ryan Hanigan paced an offense that finished third with a .264 average as he batted .296, good for tenth in the league. He added 21 doubles and 56 RBI and struck out just 51 times in 429 at-bats. Also on the offensive side, Kevin Howard led the squad with 79 RBI and tied for the lead with 24 doubles. Tony Blanco led the team in home runs with 17 despite playing in just 62 games. On the mound, Thomas Pauly and Jeffrey Bruksch both finished in the top ten in ERA, 2.97 and 3.72, respectively. Pauly ended with a mediocre 8-7 record, due in most part to poor run support, but allowed only 96 hits in 121 1/3rd innings pitched. Pauly led the league with 135 strikeouts compared to just 26 walks during his campaign. Bruksch posted a 6-7 record and finished second on the team with 133 innings pitched.

SALEM AVALANCHE - Salem's last place team batting average (.254) and third- worst team ERA (4.20) attributed to a dismal 65-74 overall record, last in the Southern Division. Fernando Nieve was magnificent on the hill for the Avalanche, posting a 10-6 record and finishing fourth in the league with a 2.96 ERA. Nieve ranked among the top ten in major pitching categories such as innings pitched (4th, 149), strikeouts (5th, 117), complete games (tied 1st, 2), and shutouts (tied 1st, 2). Also showing signs of brilliance on the mound for Salem was Chris Sampson. Sampson went 7-11 with a solid 3.80 ERA in 27 starts. He tied for second in the league with 151 2/3rd innings pitched and tossed two complete games and two shutouts. At the plate, Mark Saccomanno led the sluggish offense. He batted .261 and placed in the top ten in hits (5th, 134), slugging percentage (9th, .446), runs scored (tied 7th, 71), extra-base hits (4th, 49), and RBI (2nd, 80). His 22 home runs led the team and tied him for second in the league.

WILMINGTON BLUE ROCKS - The Blue Rocks went on a tear in the second half of the season finishing in first place with a 44-26 record and 77-62 overall. Despite the strong finish to the season, Wilmington suffered the ultimate let down in the playoffs as they saw their 2-0 championship series lead fall apart to champion Kinston. They defeated Potomac in the first round in three games. Pitching was a main contributor to Wilmington's finals run as they posted a league-best 3.40 team ERA. The Blue Rocks never had to worry when they had their top two starters on the hill in the forms of Trae McGill and Dusty Hughes, who ranked first and second respectively in individual ERA. McGill went 9-2 with a 2.08 ERA in 18 starts. He allowed 98 hits and issued just 26 walks in 112 2/3rd innings pitched. Hughes' 5-5 record does not tell the story of how dominant he was this season. In 18 starts, Hughes posted an impressive 2.41 ERA and held opponents to a paltry .235 batting average. Relief pitcher Ryan Braun was second in the league with 24 saves in 51 appearances. He finished with a 2-3 record and a 2.21 ERA. On the offensive, Shane Costa and Mike Aviles were both voted to the Carolina League All-Star team. Costa led the team with a .308 batting average, roping 20 doubles and driving in 60 runs. His 70 runs scored were second on the team. Aviles, a hard-hitting shortstop, batted .300 for the year with 40 doubles, first in the league, six home runs, and 68 RBI. Second baseman Donnie Murphy led the team with 10 home runs and 73 RBI.

WINSTON-SALEM WARTHOGS - Winston-Salem surged during the second half of the year, winning the Southern Division with a 45-25 record and earning a berth in the playoffs. After winning game one of the first playoff round, the Warthogs dropped the final two games to eventual champion Kinston, ending their season earlier than planned. Brian Becker put up huge power numbers, totaling a team-best .302 average, roping 30 doubles, 22 homers, and driving in 76 runs. Casey Rogowski put up huge numbers as well, batting .286 with 28 doubles, 18 home runs, and a team-high 90 RBI. The pitching staff did not fair as well as the offense did, posting a 4.32 team ERA, second-worst in the league. Kenny Ray amassed 12 victories this season compared to eight losses and posted a 4.08 ERA. Dwayne Pollok led the league with 38 saves and earned a spot on the Carolina League All-Star team. In 58 appearances, Pollok totaled a 2-4 record and a 3.28 ERA. Starter Sean Tracey had a solid season as well finishing with a respectable 9-8 record and a superb 2.73 ERA in 27 starts.