IL1 Charlotte Knights

Garcia's Clutch Hit Gives Knights 4-3 Walk-Off Win on Friday

July 13, 2012 - International League (IL1)
Charlotte Knights News Release


(Fort Mill, SC) - Drew Garcia stepped to the plate in the ninth inning yet to record a hit on the night. A few minutes later he walked off the field as the hero.

Garcia ripped the game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Charlotte Knights walked-off with a 4-3 win against the Durham Bulls - their second in as many days. In all, Charlotte has now won six-straight home games against the Bulls this season.

With the game tied 3-3 in the ninth inning, Jim Gallagher ignited the offense with a one-out opposite field double. Two batters later, it was a clutch infield single by Tyler Kuhn with two outs that kept the game alive.

Enter Drew Garcia.

Charlotte's infielder has been hot as of late and entered Friday's game with a .526 (10-19) batting average over his last five games. After three hits a night ago, Garcia walked to the plate in the ninth inning 0-4 on the evening.

After fouling off the first pitch he saw from Durham reliever Bryan Augenstein (1-1, 2.60), Garcia hit a hot shot up the middle, which trickled off Augenstein's leg allowing Gallagher to score the winning run from third base and give the Knights their 52nd win of the season.

"That was a team effort to be able to do that," said Garcia. "I was just looking to hit something up the middle."

Charlotte starter Pedro Hernandez was sharp in his first start of the season for the Knights. Hernandez allowed three runs on seven hits over seven innings and did not factor in the decision. Deunte Heath, who was optioned back to Charlotte during the All-Star break, threw a scoreless eighth inning.

Reliever Shane Lindsay (1-0, 3.00) struck-out one batter in the top of the ninth inning to earn his first win of the season.

2012 Triple-A All-Star Dan Johnson hit his 22nd home run of the season in the fifth inning off Durham starter Matt Torra. Johnson finished the night 2-4 at the plate.

With the victory, first place Charlotte (52-42) gained a game on second place Norfolk, who lost on Friday. The Knights now lead the Tides by four games in the International League South Division.

On Saturday, RHP Matt Zaleski will toe the rubber for Charlotte. The Bulls will go with LHP Alex Torres in game three. Saturday Night is Autism Awareness Night and Knights players will wear special jerseys to raise money for Autism Awareness. The game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off during the game. After the game, the winning bidders will receive their autographed game-worn jerseys straight from a Knights player.

Gates open at 5:30 p.m. and first pitch is set for 7:15 p.m. on Saturday. Post-game fireworks, courtesy of 1110 WBT, Carolina Weekly and Time Warner Cable will cap-off the evening.

Check out the Charlotte Knights Statistics



International League Stories from July 13, 2012


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