Tuiasosopo Has Historic Night, Knights Clip the 'Wings
August 7, 2015 - International League (IL1)
Charlotte Knights News Release
(UPTOWN CHARLOTTE, NC) - Matt Tuiasosopo made his dad's first visit to the Uptown Charlotte area a special one on Friday.
Matt's dad, former NFL defensive end Manu Tuiasosopo, witnessed history as his son launched three big home runs to lead the Charlotte Knights to a 9-5 win over the Rochester Red Wings in the opening game of a three-game series from a sold-out BB&T Ballpark on Friday night. In all, the Knights welcomed 10,312 fans to their Uptown Charlotte kingdom.
Originally acquired by the Chicago White Sox from the Toronto Blue Jays organization in a trade on June 12, 2014, Tuiasosopo has recorded 27 home runs with the Knights over parts of two seasons (145 games). The 29-year-old slugger, who entered Friday's game with 13 home runs in 2015, added to his total.
Tuiasosopo put the Knights on the scoreboard in the first inning with a three-run home run off Rochester starter Pat Dean (8-10, 3.24), who was saddled with the loss. One inning later, the Washington native ripped a solo home run off Dean -- his second in as many innings. The last Knights player to homer in back-to-back innings was Josh Phegley, who did so exactly one year ago (August 7, 2014) at BB&T Ballpark.
Five innings later with the Knights ahead of the 'Wings by a score of 6-3, Tuiasosopo moved into the record books with his third home run of the game, a three-run shot off reliever Cole Johnson in the seventh. Tuiasosopo became just one of eight players in Charlotte Knights franchise history to hit three home runs in a game. The last player to achieve that feat was Dan Black, who hit three long balls on May 29, 2014 in Columbus, OH.
Since July 1 -- a 35-game stretch -- Tuiasosopo is one of the hottest hitters in the International League this year. He leads all IL batters with 12 home runs and is tied for the lead in RBIs with Matt Hague (31) over that span. Overall, he went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, three home runs, and seven RBIs on Friday. He now has 16 home runs on the season with 46 RBIs. It was his third multi-home run game of the 2015 campaign and first three-home run game of his career.
In all, the Knights recorded 11 hits on the evening and gained a full game in the standings due to a loss by the first place Norfolk Tides. The Knights currently sit five games back of the first place Tides and are tied with the Gwinnett Braves for second place in the IL South Division.
Carroll (5-2, 2.67) was sharp on the mound on Friday en route to his fifth win of the season. The 30-year-old right-hander, who has now won back-to-back starts with the Knights, gave up seven hits while striking out one batter on the night. Relievers J.B. Wendelken (two innings) and Zach Phillips (one inning) combined to record the final nine outs of the game.
The Knights will continue their three-game series against the Rochester Red Wings on Saturday with game two of the series. RHP Erik Johnson (8-7, 2.49) will get the start for the Knights against Rochester RHP Jose Berrios (2-1, 3.58). Gates open at 6:00 p.m. for the 7:05 p.m. game from BB&T Ballpark.
International League Stories from August 7, 2015
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- Tuiasosopo Has Historic Night, Knights Clip the 'Wings - Charlotte Knights
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