Gwinnett Pounds Norfolk, 15-0
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA - The Gwinnett Braves (6-6) pounded out a season-high 21 hits and cruised to a 15-0 win over the Norfolk Tides (3-9) on Tuesday night at Coolray Field. The lopsided victory completed a two-game series sweep.
In a battle of top pitching prospects Cody Martin and Kevin Gausman, it was Martin (W, 1-1) who shined for the G-Braves. The right-hander tossed 5.2 innings of scoreless baseball in his second start of the season. He allowed two hits and struck out a season-high nine batters.
Martin didn't have to do a lot as the G-Braves' offense poured it on against Gausman and the Norfolk staff. The 15-0 victory proved to be the second largest winning margin in Gwinnett history, falling just a run shy of a team record 16-run margin in a 19-3 win at Charlotte on April 11, 2009.
Gwinnett struck for two runs in the bottom of the third. Sean Kazmar led off with a single, moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on an infield single by Phil Gosselin. Tommy La Stella drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly, and Joey Terdoslavich followed with a single scoring Gosselin to make it 2-0.
The G-Braves tallied two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, pushing the lead to 4-0. Edward Salcedo blasted his second home run of the season, taking Gausman deep to left to lead off the inning. Christian Bethancourt then doubled and Kazmar singled, and Bethancourt scored from third on a throw to second base.
In the fifth, the G-Braves broke it open with five runs on five hits. Salcedo had a big two-run double, while Kazmar, Jose Constanza and La Stella added RBIs to increase the lead to 9-0.
Gwinnett added six more runs over the next three innings. Bethancourt and Kazmar added RBIs in the sixth, Ernesto Mejia drove in a run in the seventh and Constanza, La Stella and Mejia each plated a run in the eighth.
Every member of the G-Braves' starting lineup tallied at least one hit for the third time this season. Gwinnett's 21 hits were the most in a single game since August 19, 2012, when the team combined for 23 hits in a 13-10 win at Durham.
While the offense was racking up hits, the pitching staff was dominating. G-Braves' hurlers combined to toss a five-hit shutout. Atahualpa Severino worked 1.2 scoreless innings with three strikeouts, and Luis Vasquez added 1.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
Gausman (L, 0-1) suffered the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits in 3.0 innings. He walked three and struck out one. Four Norfolk relievers combined to allow 11 runs over the final 5.0 innings.
Kazmar, Salcedo, Gosselin and Constanza all recorded three hit games, while La Stella and Salcedo each had three RBIs.
Norfolk had five hits on the night. Alexi Casilla went 2-for-4 with two doubles to lead all Tides' hitters.
The Gwinnett Braves hit the road for a three-game series against the Charlotte Knights at BB&T Ballpark. The series begins on Wednesday night at 7:05 PM. Left-hander Daniel Rodriguez (1-1, 2.70) will take the ball for the G-Braves, while right-hander Dylan Axelrod (1-0, 3.60) starts for the Knights. Tony Schiavone will have the play-by-play call on wdun.com, GwinnettBraves.com, TuneIn Radio and the MiLB First Pitch app.