IL1 Charlotte Knights

Knights Drop Finale to Bulls 12-8 on Tuesday

Published on April 14, 2015 under International League (IL1)
Charlotte Knights News Release


(UPTOWN CHARLOTTE, NC) -- The Charlotte Knights fell to the Durham Bulls in their series finale which saw 31 hits and 20 runs between the two teams in the 12-8 slugfest. The Bulls offense used three home runs - including a grand slam by Corey Brown in the sixth inning - to take the finale and split the two-game set.

Durham's offense got started early when lead-off man Ryan Brett doubled down the left-field line in the first inning and came in to score on a Jake Elmore single, but The Knights came thundering back with six hits and four runs off of Bulls starter RHP Dylan Floro (2-0, 4.09) in the bottom of the inning.

Charlotte second baseman Carlos Sanchez started a string of five consecutive hits with a double to left field. Four straight singles followed with Neftali Soto and Engel Beltre tallying one RBI apiece.

After a strikeout snapped the string of hits, Leury Garcia delivered a two-out, two-run double to give the Knights a 4-1 lead.

Matt Davidson was able to extend the Knights lead to 5-1 with his second hit of the night, a two-out RBI-double to score Soto from first base.

A four-run inning for the Bulls would follow, started by a lead-off homer by Ryan Brett - the seventh ranked prospect in the Rays farm system according to Baseball America.

After a pair of singles, Joey Butler would drive in two runs with a double to cut the lead to one. Butler would then score on a Brown single, the fifth consecutive hit of the inning.

Durham shortstop Hak-Ju Lee gave the Bulls a 6-5 lead in the top of the fourth inning with an RBI-double off the center-field wall that scored Eugenio Velez.

With two outs in the inning, Brad Penny (1-1, 8.68) plunked two consecutive batters to load the bases before RHP Arcenio Leon came in to replace the Knights starter. Leon would strike out Brown to end the inning and strand the bases loaded, keeping the game within a run.

Leon wasn't able to navigate out of a second bases-loaded jam however, as Brown connected on his first home run of the young season, giving the Bulls a 10-5 advantage.

After the four-run first inning, Floro - who was named International League Pitcher of the Week on Monday - settled down nicely and allowed only one run on four hits over the next four innings to earn his second win of the season.

Soto was able to cut the lead to 10-7 with his third hit of the game, a single that scored Jared Mitchell and Tyler Saladino.

Two more insurance runs were added by Durham in the eighth inning on the Bulls third home run of the game, a two-run shot by Luke Maile.

Saladino nearly added a two-run blast of his own in the bottom of the eighth, as his long fly ball was caught at the warning track in center field. Garcia was able to tag and score from third on the play to cut the lead to 12-8.

The loss pushed the Knights record to an even 3-3 on their first homestand of the season, as the team heads south to take on the Gwinnett Braves for the next two days. The team returns to Uptown Charlotte on Friday night to take on the Braves for a three-game set against their division rivals.

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International League Stories from April 14, 2015


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