Clevinger, Knights Stifle IronPigs

CHARLOTTE, NC – The Charlotte Knights controlled Saturday’s game against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs from start to finish. Charlotte led throughout the contest and held off Lehigh Valley’s late push for an impressive 7-4 victory over the International League’s first place team.

Dominic Fletcher, back in the lineup after a few days off, led off the bottom of the first with a massive Home Run to right field and the Knights took an early 1-0 lead. Fletcher struck again in the bottom of the third with an RBI single that plated Dru Baker from second base.

Charlotte continued to build on their lead inning after inning. Bryan Ramos hit a solo Homer in the fourth, Adam Hackenberg delivered an RBI single in the fifth, Zach DeLoach went deep in the sixth, and Brooks Baldwin parked a two-run Home Run in the seventh. All in all, the Knights extended the lead out to 7-0 with the IronPigs offense stuck in the mud.

Mike Clevinger was untouchable across five shutout innings. Clevinger’s only blemish was a sea-high single and a walk. The right-hander struck out five and notched his first win of the season. Caleb Freeman, Nick Nastrini, and James Karinchak finished out the game from the bullpen.

Lehigh Valley did not put a runner at second base until the ninth inning. The IronPigs took advantage of a Knights error and ended up hitting a Grand Slam for their only scoring play. The blast had little to do with the outcome as Charlotte secured their second straight win and third in their last four games.

Eight of the nine Knights starters recorded at least one hit. Fletcher, DeLoach, and Baker all finished with two. DeLoach is batting .329 with a .970 OPS since May 2.

Sunday’s series finale is slated for 1:05pm ET. Charlotte can clinch the series with a win while Lehigh Valley hopes to escape town with a series split.