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Gwinnett Falls to Mud Hens 5-4 in 12 Innings

Toledo's "walk-off" win spoils G-Braves' dramatic ninth-inning comeback
May 20, 2015

TOLEDO, OH - Former Gwinnett Braves' infielder Josh Wilson's two-out, bloop single in the bottom of the 12th inning scored Xavier Avery from second base to give the Toledo Mud Hens (16-23) a 5-4 win over the G-Braves (17-23) in the finale of the three-game series Wednesday at Fifth Third Field.

In that final frame, Avery doubled to right field off of Gwinnett right-handed reliever Carlos Fisher (L, 0-2) with two outs and the bases empty. Wilson's game winner followed as Avery broke for third base on the pitch. The winning hit dropped in front of a diving Mycal Jones in center field.

The "walk-off" win ruined a big G-Braves' comeback attempt in the top of the ninth. With Toledo up by a 4-0 score and right-handed reliever Ryan Perry on the mound, Daniel Castro led off the inning with a single to center and moved to second on a groundout to short by Cedric Hunter. Right-hander Alberto Cabrera (BS, 2) entered from the bullpen and promptly walked Sean Kazmar. Barrett Kleinknecht grounded into a force play that moved Castro to third but got Kazmar out at second. Wil Nieves walked to load the bases. With Elmer Reyes batting, Cabrera delivered a wild pitch, allowing Castro to score, cutting the lead to 4-1. Reyes then delivered a three-run home run to left to tie the game at 4-4 and eventually send it to extra innings.

The Mud Hens broke a scoreless tie by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth off of Gwinnett right-handed starter Matt Wisler. Before giving up the runs, Wisler had retired the first 13 batters he had faced. However, he walked Jordan Lennerton to end the string of consecutive outs and gave up a run-scoring triple to right to Corey Jones. Jefry Marte followed with a two-run homer to left to up the Toledo lead to 3-0.

The Mud Hens added a run in the bottom of the sixth when Lennerton drove home Wilson from third with a single to center. The Hens held on to the 4-0 lead until the G-Braves' top of the ninth.

Wisler went 6.0 innings with five hits, four runs (all earned), one walk and four strikeouts. Left-hander Ian Thomas pitched a scoreless seventh with one walk and two strikeouts. Right-hander Kanekoa Texeira worked the eighth with one hit and two strikeouts. Righty David Carpenter went 1.1 innings with two hits and a walk, and lefty Donnie Veal pitched 1.2 innings with two hits. Fisher was tagged for the loss after pitching 0.2 of an inning with two hits and one run, which was earned.

For Toledo, right-handed starter Thad Weber pitched 8.0 scoreless innings with four hits and five strikeouts. Perry went 0.1 of an inning with one hit, two earned runs and one walk. Cabrera worked 0.2 of an inning with one hit, two earned runs and one walk. Left-hander Ian Krol pitched 1.1 inning with one walk, and righty Guido Knudson (W, 1-0) went 1.2 innings with three strikeouts.

Offensively for Gwinnett, Castro was 2-for-5 and Reyes was 1-for-5 with the three-run homer, which was his first of the season.

Avery led the Mud Hens with a 3-for-6 day with one run and one double. Wilson was 2-for-6, Lennerton was 2-for-4 with a run and Jeff McVaney was 2-for-5.

The G-Braves now head to Columbus to begin a four-game series against the Clippers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The first game of the series will begin at 6:35 p.m. Thursday at Huntington Park. Right-hander Cody Martin (0-0, 0.00) will be on the mound to make his first start of the season for Gwinnett. Columbus will start fellow righty Toru Murata (2-0, 2.57). Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call from Columbus on 97.7 FM and WSBRadio.com beginning at 6:00 p.m.

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The Gwinnett Braves are the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Follow the G-Braves at GwinnettBraves.com, facebook.com/GwinnettBraves1 and twitter.com/GwinnettBraves. Tickets are on sale now at the Coolray Field Ticket Office, call 678-277-0340 or visit GwinnettBraves.com/tickets.