Ritchie Tosses Five Scoreless Innings, Gwinnett Drops Opener 4-1 to Durham
IL Gwinnett Stripers

Ritchie Tosses Five Scoreless Innings, Gwinnett Drops Opener 4-1 to Durham

Published on September 1, 2025 under International League (IL)
Gwinnett Stripers News Release


LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia - The Gwinnett Stripers (29-28) received 5.0 innings of two-hit baseball from starter JR Ritchie but ended up with a 4-1 loss to the Durham Bulls (29-26) on Monday afternoon at Coolray Field. Gwinnett failed to get on the scoreboard until the ninth inning, when Eddys Leonard hit a 427-foot solo home run.

Decisive Plays: Durham broke the ice in the sixth inning with a three-run homer from Cooper Hummel (4) off Stripers' reliever and former Durham Bull Connor Seabold (L, 3-5). The Bulls added an insurance run in the eighth on an RBI single from Tres Barrera to make it a 4-0 lead. Down to their final out of the game, the Stripers finally got on the board with Leonard's milestone homer to cut it to 4-1.

Key Contributors: Ritchie struck out seven batters across 5.0 innings (2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB) in a no-decision, his first outing since being named International League Pitcher of the Week for August 25-31. Leonard (2-for-4, homer, RBI) drove in the lone run for Gwinnett while Carlos Rodriguez (2-for-4, double) also finished with a multi-hit game. For Durham, Hummel's homer was the difference. Cole Sulser earned the win (W, 3-0) with 1.1 hitless innings in relief.

Noteworthy: Leonard became the 11th player in Gwinnett history to reach the 20-homer plateau, the first since Travis Demeritte hit 21 in 2021. He is now two homers shy of matching his career high of 22, set with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in 2021. Ritchie has struck out 18 batters over 11.0 scoreless innings in his last two starts.

Next Game (Wednesday, September 3): Gwinnett Stripers vs. Durham Bulls, 7:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. RHP Jhancarlos Lara (0-2, 4.83 ERA) gets the ball for Gwinnett against Durham RHP Joe Boyle (7-4, 1.73 ERA). Bring your four-legged Stripers fan to the ballpark for Wet Nose Wednesday. Dogs will receive free admission with a paid owner on The Bank. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com. Live Video Stream: Bally Sports Live.

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International League Stories from September 1, 2025


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