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IL1 Gwinnett Stripers

G-Braves Slay Knights, 11-1

August 12, 2015 - International League (IL1)
Gwinnett Stripers News Release


CHARLOTTE, NC - The Gwinnett Braves (63-54) produced double-digit hits for the third game in a row, this time coming up with 17 in an 11-1 whipping of the Charlotte Knights (62-57) on Wednesday night in game three of the four-game series at BB&T Ballpark.

The win, combined with a 4-3 loss by the Norfolk Tides to the Durham Bulls, moved Gwinnett to 4.0 games behind the Tides in the International League South standings. Gwinnett remains 2.0 in back of the Columbus Clippers, who beat the Louisville Bats 2-0, in the Wild Card race.

The offensive assault helped Gwinnett left-hander Greg Smith (W, 6-4) to his third straight win. Smith went 7.0 innings with five hits, one earned run and three strikeouts. The only run Smith gave up was a leadoff solo homer by Matt Davidson in the bottom of the fourth. At that time, Gwinnett was comfortably ahead 5-0.

The speed of Mallex Smith started things off for the G-Braves in the top of the first. He led off the game with a double to left off of Charlotte right-handed starter Scott Carroll (L, 5-3). Eric Young, Jr., bunted Smith to third, but Smith rounded third and headed for home on the bunt. The throw from Charlotte first baseman Dayan Viciedo was late and the G-Braves took a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the third, Christian Bethancourt greeted Carroll with a single to center field, and moved to second when Cedric Hunter singled to right-center. Sean Kazmar reached on a force play, moving Bethancourt to third. A ground out on a ball hit back to the mound by Todd Cunningham moved Kazmar to third, and Daniel Castro plated both Bethancourt and Kazmar with a two-out single to left for a 3-0 lead.

Gwinnett plated two more in the top of the fifth to go up 5-0, as Smith and Young started out with back-to-back singles and moved up one base on a double steal. Bethancourt drove Smith home with a sacrifice fly to center for a 4-0 lead, and Hunter doubled Young in from second for a 5-0 advantage.

After the Davidson homer in the bottom of the fifth, the G-Braves pushed across runs again in the top of the fifth. Cunningham reached on an error, moved to second on a single by Castro and scored on a double to left by Jordan Lennerton for a 6-1 lead. Charlotte removed Carroll and replaced him with righty reliever Terance Marin. Luis Mateo hit a ground ball to short off of Marin, scoring Castro from third to make it 7-1.

In the top of the sixth, Kazmar led off with an infield single and moved to third on a double to left by Cunningham. Castro hit a groundball to short that was bobbled by Drew Garcia, allowing Kazmar to score for an 8-1 lead.

The final blow came in the top of the ninth with right-hander Miguel Chalas on the mound for Charlotte. With two outs, he walked pinch hitter Barrett Kleinknecht and Bethancourt. Hunter followed with a three-run blast to right for his team-leading 11th home run of the season to give Gwinnett its 10-run lead.

Right-hander Jason Hursh replaced Smith for the eighth and pitched a perfect inning. Fellow righty Carlos Fisher worked a scoreless ninth with one hit allowed.

Carroll went 4.0 innings with 12 hits, seven runs (six earned), one walk and one strikeout. Marin worked 3.0 innings with three hits, one earned run, three walks and three strikeouts. Left-handed reliever Onelki Garcia pitched 1.0 inning with two strikeouts. Chalas went 1.0 inning with two hits, three earned runs and two walks.

Bethancourt led the offensive explosion for Gwinnett. He went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. He now has a season-high, six-game multi-hit streak. Castro was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and a run. Hunter was 3-for-6 with a double, a three-run homer and four RBIs. Kazmar was also 3-for-6 with two runs scored. Mallex Smith was 2-for-4 with two runs and two stolen bases.

Davidson was 1-for-4 for Charlotte with a solo home run.

The G-Braves and Knights wrap up the four-game series at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday at BB&T Ballpark. Righty Victor Mateo (1-0, 2.25) will start for Gwinnett, while right-hander Erik Johnson (8-8, 2.58) gets the start for the Knights. Tony Schiavone has the call beginning at 6:30 p.m. on 97.7 FM and WSBRadio.com.

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International League Stories from August 12, 2015


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