Fletcher's Three-RBI Flare Highlights Stripers’ Rally in 7-4 Win
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – After falling behind 2-0 just two batters into the game, the Gwinnett Stripers (16-17) got a three-run single from David Fletcher in the sixth inning and charged back to grab a 7-4 series opening victory over the Charlotte Knights (13-20) on Tuesday afternoon at Coolray Field. Decisive
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – After falling behind 2-0 just two batters into the game, the Gwinnett Stripers (16-17) got a three-run single from David Fletcher in the sixth inning and charged back to grab a 7-4 series opening victory over the Charlotte Knights (13-20) on Tuesday afternoon at Coolray Field.
Decisive Plays: Charlotte ambushed Stripers starter AJ Smith-Shawver with two home runs from the first two batters of the game, as Colson Montgomery and Dominic Fletcher each went deep to stake the Knights to a 2-0 lead. After falling behind 3-0 in the top of the fourth, Gwinnett got on the board with an RBI double by Luke Waddell in the home half. Trailing 3-2 in the sixth inning with two outs and the bases loaded, Fletcher flared a base hit to right field to score all three baserunners and establish the Stripers' first lead of the game at 5-3. Yuli Gurriel clubbed his first homer (1) as a Striper in the seventh to pad the lead to 6-3, and added a bases-loaded walk to make it 7-3 in the eighth.
Key Contributors: Fletcher (1-for-5, 3 RBIs) and Gurriel (1-for-4, HR, BB, 2 RBIs) both had the multi-RBI outings for Gwinnett. Brian Moran (W, 1-0), Jimmy Herget (H, 2), Daysbel Hernandez (H, 3) and Grant Holmes combined for 5.2 innings of relief with just one hit and one run, continuing Gwinnett's superior stretch from its relievers. For Charlotte, Montgomery and Fletcher both homered, while Zach DeLoach and Andrew Castellano both recorded RBIs.
Noteworthy: The Stripers completed their 11th comeback win of the season. The seven hits for Gwinnett were scattered across seven different batters. Stripers batters drew a season-high 10 walks, besting the previous high of nine walks on March 31 at Jacksonville.
Next Game (Wednesday, May 8): Gwinnett vs. Charlotte, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live. LHP Dylan Dodd (2-2, 4.32 ERA) will start for Gwinnett against RHP Johan Dominguez (2-2, 5.63 ERA) for Charlotte. It's Wet Nose Wednesday at Coolray Field, as dogs get in free with a paid owner on The Bank, the outfield berm lawn seating.