Knights Fall 10-7 Despite Late Game Drama

CHARLOTTE, NC – The Charlotte Knights showed their resolve in a series opening 10-7 defeat at the hands of the Gwinnett Stripers. What was a close game early morphed into a 9-1 deficit after six innings. Charlotte never quit and battled back to bring the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning. The rally fell short; however, the Knights showcased their resilient approach.

Hagen Smith turned in another strong starting pitching performance. The Chicago White Sox number four prospect went four innings, struck out six, and allowed only one hit, which happened to be a two-run homer. Gwinnett added a solo shot in the fifth inning.

Oliver Dunn put the Knights on the board with a solo blast of his own in the bottom of the fifth. The Stripers rallied for six runs in the top of the sixth and extended their lead to eight.

The Knights battled back with a four-run seventh inning rally. Dru Baker and Rikuu Nishida each contributed RBI base hits. Dunn added another RBI with a run-scoring single in the eighth inning and Jacob Gonzalez clubbed a solo Home Run in the ninth.

Down to their final out, Charlotte received back-to-back singles from Jarred Kelenic and Michael Turner. The next batter, LaMonte Wade Jr., worked a walk to load the bases. Unfortunately, a strikeout ended the threat and gave the visitors a 10-7 triumph.

Lucas Sims and Chris Murphy both pitched a scoreless inning out of the Charlotte bullpen while offensively, every Knights player who took an at-bat recorded at least one hit.

The Knights and Stripers are set for a quick turnaround with game two of the series scheduled for Wednesday morning at 11:05am ET.