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IL1 Gwinnett Stripers

Stripers Get Back to .500 with Twin-Bill Sweep

August 25, 2018 - International League (IL1)
Gwinnett Stripers News Release


CHARLOTTE, NC - The Gwinnett Stripers reached the .500 mark with a sweep of a day-night doubleheader at BB&T Ballpark on Saturday, beating the Charlotte Knights 11-5 and 7-4.

The Stripers are now 65-65 on the season, the first time the club has been .500 since April 10, when a 5-4 win at Durham put them at 2-2.

In game one, the Stripers broke open a tie game with eight runs over their final two at-bats for an 11-5 win.

After seven innings and a 5-5 tie, the Stripers loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the eighth against Charlotte reliever Brandon Brennan. Dustin Peterson delivered an RBI single to left to put Gwinnett ahead 6-5. Ryan Flaherty then stroked a two-run single to right to push the lead to 8-5.

An inning later, Rio Ruiz blasted a three-run home run (9) to right off reliever Rob Scahill to make it 11-5, the eventual final.

The early innings saw Gwinnett take the lead twice, only for the Knights to mount comebacks.

In the top of the first, Austin Riley drilled a two-run home run (9) off Charlotte starting pitcher Asher Wojciechowski for a quick 2-0 lead. It was Riley's fourth homer on the current road trip.

However, Seby Zavala hit a two-run double to left in the bottom of the first against Gwinnett starting pitcher Corbin Clouse to knot the game at 2-2 after one. Charlotte took the lead an inning later as Ryan Cordell's two-out RBI single to left off Clouse made it a 3-2 game.

Phil Gosselin put Gwinnett back up by a 4-3 score in the top of the fifth with a two-run homer (5) to left off Wojciechowski.

That lead lasted only a half-inning, as in the bottom of the fourth, reliever Phillip Pfeifer gave up an RBI single to Jake Elmore and an RBI double to Patrick Leonard to give the Knights a 5-4 lead.

In the top of the sixth, the Stripers tied the game at 5-5 as Danny Santana led off with a single, moved to second on a single by Michael Reed and scored on a single by Peterson.

Clouse, making his first-ever start in pro baseball in game one, went 2.0 innings with five hits, three earned runs, one walk and three strikeouts. Pfeifer went 3.0 innings with two hits, two earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts. Kyle Wright, making his first career bullpen appearance, pitched 1.0 scoreless inning with one hit and one strikeout. Miguel Socolovich (W, 5-4) worked 2.0 scoreless innings with one hit and two strikeouts. Jacob Webb closed the game with a perfect bottom of the ninth including one strikeout.

For Charlotte, Wojciechowski tossed 7.0 innings with eight hits, five earned runs, one walk and nine strikeouts. Brennan (L, 0-1) went 1.0 inning with three hits, three earned runs, two walks and two strikeouts. Scahill pitched 1.0 inning with four hits, three earned runs and two strikeouts.

At the plate in game one, the Stripers totaled 15 hits. Santana, Reed and Peterson each went 3-for-5. Santana scored three runs, Reed scored twice and Peterson collected two RBIs. Riley's two-run first-inning homer was his only hit in four at-bats. The three-run homer by Ruiz in the top of the ninth was his only hit in four trips as well.

Elmore and Leonard both went 2-for-4 for Charlotte.

In the nightcap, the Stripers got on the board first and never trailed. Riley doubled to left off Knights' starting pitcher Ricardo Pinto and scored on a single to right by Ruiz for a 1-0 lead.

The lead climbed to 3-0 in the top of the sixth as Ruiz led off with a walk and moved to third on a double to left by Sean Kazmar Jr. Both then scored on a double by Gosselin.

Gwinnett starter Connor Johnstone cruised through four scoreless innings, but was tagged for a run in the bottom of the fifth as Trayce Thompson smacked a one-out solo homer (3) to right to cut the lead to 3-1.

The Stripers unloaded against reliever Tyler Danish in the top of the sixth, scoring four runs for a 7-1 lead. Ruiz led off with a single and moved to third on a double by Peterson. Kazmar reached on a fielder's choice scoring Ruiz, and an errant throw by Charlotte shortstop Bryant Flete enabled Peterson to take third. Peterson later scored on a wild pitch by Danish. Kazmar, who moved to third on the wild pitch, scored when Gosselin ripped his second double of the game, a ground ball up the first base line. Gosselin scored the fourth run of the inning on a sacrifice fly to left by Lane Adams.

The Knights cut the lead to 7-3 in the bottom of the sixth when Patrick Leonard hit a two-run homer (11) off Johnstone. Charlotte cut further into the lead in the bottom of the ninth on a two-out RBI single to center by Charlie Tilson off Adam McCreery, but McCreery closed the door enabling Johnstone to record his first Triple-A win in only his second season in pro baseball.

Johnstone (W, 1-0) pitched 6.0 innings with seven hits, three earned runs, one walk and five strikeouts. Peter Moylan and Brandon McCarthy, both pitching on rehab assignments for the Atlanta Braves, each turned in 1.0 scoreless inning. McCreery tossed 1.0 inning with one hit, one earned run, two walks and two strikeouts.

Pinto (L, 2-2) was the losing pitcher for the Knights with 4.0 innings, six hits, three earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts. Danish pitched 2.0 innings with four hits, four runs - two earned - and two strikeouts. Aaron Bummer worked 1.0 innings with one strikeout. Carson Fulmer went 2.0 inning with one hit, one walk and three strikeouts.

Ruiz was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI in game two. Gosselin was 2-for-4 with a run, two doubles and three RBIs. Sal Giardina was 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to seven games and Michael Reed went 1-for-4 to increase his on-base streak to 15 games.

For Charlotte, Tilson was 2-for-5 with an RBI.

The Stripers (65-65) and Knights (59-71) meet in game three of the four-game series at BB&T Ballpark on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. Atlanta Braves' left-hander Max Fried (2-5, 4.10 ERA) will make a rehab start for Gwinnett, while Charlotte will start left-hander Jordan Guerrero (5-2, 3.00 ERA). Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call on 97.7 and 93.5 FM "The Other Side of the River" beginning at 4:35 p.m.

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