Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon
Triple-A Affiliate
The Official Site of the Charlotte Knights Charlotte Knights

Knights Fall Short on Saturday to IronPigs 9-7

Mark Payton Led the Way with Four RBIs for Charlotte
Mark Payton had a bases-clearing double in the 8th inning. (Laura Wolff/Charlotte Knights)
August 13, 2022

(ALLENTOWN, PA) – Despite a strong, late-inning comeback, the Charlotte Knights dropped game five of the six-game series against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs by a score of 9-7 on Saturday night from Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA. The loss stopped Charlotte’s win streak at three consecutive games. Still, the Knights

(ALLENTOWN, PA) – Despite a strong, late-inning comeback, the Charlotte Knights dropped game five of the six-game series against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs by a score of 9-7 on Saturday night from Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA. The loss stopped Charlotte’s win streak at three consecutive games. Still, the Knights have won nine of the team’s last 13 games.

Down by a score of 9-3 in the eighth inning, the Knights rallied for four runs to pull to within two runs, 9-7. Charlotte loaded the bases in the top of the eighth inning and center fielder Mark Payton ripped a three-run double to make it a 9-6 game.

Third baseman Jake Burger drove home Charlotte’s seventh and final run of the game on an RBI single in the eighth.

For the Knights offensively, Payton led the way with a team-high four RBIs. He is now the team leader in that category with 61 on the season. Right fielder Tyler Neslony also continued his strong series at the plate, driving in two of the team’s runs on Saturday night. Neslony hit a two-run single in the top of the sixth inning and finished the night going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. He now has six hits over his last three games.

The IronPigs jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning against RHP Tobias Myers (1-11, 6.68), who was saddled with the loss. Making his second start of the season with the Knights, Myers recorded just two outs in the 1st inning and was removed after allowing five runs in the frame. The inning was highlighted by a three-run home run by Lehigh Valley slugger Will Toffey.

LHP Ricardo Sanchez started for the IronPigs and earned the win after he allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits over 5.2 innings pitched. The Knights scored all four runs in the eighth inning off Jace Fry, a former Charlotte reliever. In the ninth, Lehigh Valley reliever Jakob Hernandez fanned two batters to shut the door on the game five win.

The two teams will conclude the six-game series on Sunday night with first pitch at 5:35 p.m. from Coca-Cola Park. The “Voice of the Charlotte Knights” Matt Swierad will have the call for all of the action on 730 The Game ESPN Charlotte and www.CharlotteKnights.com.