01:00 AM EDT on Monday, April 11, 2005

BY DAN HICKLING
Special to the Journal

INDIANAPOLIS -- They scratched and clawed, but the Pawtucket Red Sox remain empty-handed.

The PawSox are still in search of their first win of the season, after suffering another tough loss, 7-6, to the Indianapolis Indians, before 6,452 at Victory Field.

Pawtucket dropped four games of its season-opening series to the Indians, being outscored by a total of seven runs.

"It's the nature of any competitor," said PawSox catcher Kelly Shoppach, who enlivened matters in the sixth with a two-run homer to center field. "When your backs are against the wall, you're going to do anything you can. I thought we did that."

Unfortunately for the PawSox, their best efforts went for naught.

"I'm not worried about the first win," said first-year manager Ron Johnson. "I'm worried about 50th, 60th, 70th win down the road. It's all about how you play. Today, we just didn't play very well."

For all the runs the PawSox scored, they stranded 13 runners, 10 in scoring position, and left the tying run on third at the end of the game.

They could have broken the game open early by pouncing on scuffling Indy starter Bobby Bradley, and did score three times in the second.

But they gave Bradley, who uncorked five wild pitches and walked six in his four innings of work, an escape route every time.

"We didn't capitalize early on a guy who was really struggling on the mound," Johnson said. "We allowed him to stay in the game. You can't do that."

PawSox starter Lenny DiNardo had his struggles, too. He encountered some two-out trouble in the third, issuing a walk, an infield single, and a three-run blast to designated hitter Ryan Doumit, tying the score at 3-3.

Doumit had a big series against the PawSox, going 8-for-12 with 4 homers and 7 RBI.

"I think Ryan's seeing the ball real well to start with," said Indy skipper Trent Jewett, "staying inside his boundaries. I've been more impressed with his patience and his pitch recognition. The home runs are impressive but I think his patience has been the key."

Indy took a 5-3 lead, but in the top of the seventh, Shoppach tied it with his second homer of the season.

Pawtucket took the lead briefly in the top of the eighth, but in the bottom of the inning, Indy scratched out two runs, both charged to 37-year-old Denney Tomori, a veteran of the Japanese leagues who was making his North American debut.

This time, there were no answers.

"We played well and pitched well, at times," said Shoppach. "We just got beat. It's not like they went out and dominated us. It's tough to take, but that's the way it goes."

Three PawSox hurlers -- DiNardo, Mark Malaska and Abe Alvarez -- will make a quick trip to Boston to receive their World Series rings during today's ceremony at Fenway Park. All three appeared briefly with last year's World Champions.

The PawSox move on to Louisville, where tonight (7:15 p.m.) they'll commence a four-game set with the Bats. Pawtucket right-hander John Stephens will go against lefty Jeriome Robertson.