Lipcius Clubs Third Homer of the Year in 8-5 Defeat

JACKSONVILLE, FL- Last year Andre Lipcius belted 25 Home Runs in Triple-A. This season, the Charlotte Knights infielder has already clubbed a team-high three in just five games played. Lipcius’ most recent Home Run came on Thursday night in a losing effort against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. Charlotte ended up on the wrong end of an 8-5 score and dropped their third straight game in Jacksonville.

The Knights fell behind 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning. Charlotte rallied back to tie the game with a run in both the second and third frames. Kyle Teel crushed a leadoff triple in the second and scored on a Jumbo Shrimp error. Edgar Quero knotted the score with a Sacrifice Fly in the third.

The game remained tied until Jacksonville pushed across the go-ahead run in the fifth. The Jumbo Shrimp then rallied to score four more runs in the sixth and plated another in the seventh.

Trailing 8-2, Charlotte made things interesting in the eighth. After Quero reached on an error, Bobby Dalbec lined a triple into left field and drove in the Knights’ third run of the contest. The next batter, Lipcius, destroyed a 372-foot, two-run Homer over the left field wall. Lipcius’ blast left his bat at 105.9 mph.

The Knights were unable to pull any closer in the ninth. Charlotte has lost three straight games to Jacksonville; however, the Knights continue to play well late in games. Their three losses have come by a combined six runs.

Nick Nastrini’s outing on the mound was solid. The right-hander battled through five innings and limited the Jumbo Shrimp to two earned runs. Brandon Eisert added a scoreless inning out of the Knights bullpen.

Charlotte will look to jump back into the win column on Friday night. The Knights and Jumbo Shrimp take the field at 7:05pm ET in Jacksonville.