Sports stats

IL1 Gwinnett Stripers

Gwinnett Pounds Norfolk, 11-5

April 9, 2016 - International League (IL1)
Gwinnett Stripers News Release


NORFOLK, VA - On a bitterly cold, windy Saturday night at Harbor Park, the Gwinnett Braves' offense was red hot. The G-Braves (3-0) scored seven runs in the top of the first inning and banged out 19 total hits en route to an 11-5 whipping of the Norfolk Tides (0-3) in game three of the four-game series.

The G-Braves were unkind to former teammate Todd Redmond (L, 0-1), blasting the Norfolk starter for seven runs on seven hits in the top of the first.

Mallex Smith led off the game with a single to left and moved to second on his first stolen base of the season. Daniel Castro poked an infield single off the glove of Redmond to move Smith to third. Reid Brignac plated Smith with a sacrifice fly to center for a 1-0 lead. After a single by Tyler Moore, Matt Tuiasosopo (1) delivered a crushing three-run home run to left to make it 4-0. Blake Lalli and Brandon Snyder followed with back-to-back singles, and Sean Kazmar Jr. (1) cleared the bases with a three-run blast to left to bring the score to 7-0.

Gwinnett increased the lead to 9-0 in the fourth. Smith led off with a double to right-center and moved to third on a groundout by Castro. Brignac drove in Smith with a single to left, moved to second on a wild pitch by Redmond and took third on a single by Moore. Andy Oliver relieved Redmond for the Tides and gave up a sacrifice fly to Tuiasosopo, scoring Brignac.

In the top of the fifth, consecutive singles by Rio Ruiz, Kazmar and Smith loaded the bases and a sacrifice fly to center by Castro scored Ruiz for a 10-0 lead.

Gwinnett starter Aaron Blair (W, 1-0) cruised through the first four innings, but was finally touched for a run in the bottom of the fifth as Xavier Avery and Francisco Pena tallied back-to-back triples.

In the bottom of the sixth, a two-run homer by Norfolk's Christian Walker (1) off Blair cut the G-Braves' lead to 10-3.

The G-Braves added their final run in the top of the seventh inning against reliever Jason Stoffel. Smith led off with a single - his fourth hit of the night - and moved to second on a throwing error by Avery. After taking third on a Castro groundout, Smith scored on Brignac's single to center for an 11-3 lead.

The Tides closed out the scoring by plating two runs in the bottom of the eighth against G-Braves' reliever Joel Del La Cruz.

Blair pitched 6.0 innings in his Gwinnett debut, allowing three earned runs on five hits, walking one and striking out six. De La Cruz went 2.0 innings with four hits, two earned runs and two strikeouts. David Peterson, in his second bullpen outing of the season, worked a scoreless bottom of the ninth with one walk and one strikeout.

Redmond gave up nine earned runs and 11 hits over 3.1 innings for the Tides. He walked one and struck out four. Oliver pitched 2.2 innings with four hits, one earned run, one walk and two strikeouts. Stoffel went 2.0 innings with four hits and one unearned run. Edgar Olmos pitched a scoreless top of the ninth with one strikeout.

Gwinnett's 19-hit assault was led by Smith, who was 4-for-5 with a double and three runs scored. Tuiasosopo went 2-for-5 with four RBIs, while Brignac and Kazmar each went 2-for-5 with three RBIs.

For Norfolk, Walker was 2-for-4 with a double, homer and three RBIs.

The G-Braves and Tides conclude the four-game series on Sunday afternoon at Harbor Park. Right-hander Tyrell Jenkins (0-0, 0.00) will start for Gwinnett, while Norfolk will counter with right-hander Terry Doyle (0-0, 0.00). First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call on 97.7 FM and WSBRadio.com beginning at 12:35 p.m.

Gwinnett's home opener at Coolray Field is set for Thursday April 14 at 7:05 p.m. against the Norfolk Tides. To purchase tickets, call the Coolray Field Ticket Office at 678-277-0340 or visit GwinnettBraves.com/tickets.

Check out the Gwinnett Stripers Statistics



International League Stories from April 9, 2016


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Gwinnett Stripers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central