Knights Outpace Stripers Monday to Split Series

CHARLOTTE, NC - The Gwinnett Stripers mustered only two hits in a 3-1 loss to the Charlotte Knights Monday in the final game of a four-game series at BB&T Ballpark.
With the loss, the Stripers finished the nine-game road trip with a 5-4 record and fell to 4.5 games back of the International League Wild Card lead with just seven games remaining.

With the loss, the Stripers finished the nine-game road trip with a 5-4 record and fell to 4.5 games back of the International League Wild Card lead with just seven games remaining.
In the top of the first, Austin Riley drilled a two-out solo homer (10) to left off of Charlotte starting pitcher Colton Turner for a 1-0 lead. It was Riley's fifth homer of the road trip.
However, the only other hit for Gwinnett did not come until the top of the eighth when Sal Giardina lined a one-out single to center. 
Meanwhile, Charlotte tied the game in the bottom of third against Gwinnett right-hander Wes Parsons. With two outs, Eloy Jiménez singled to right and scored on a double off the wall by former Georgia Tech star Matt Skole.
The Knights took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth as Jake Elmore reached on a force play and scored from first when Patrick Leonard crushed a double to center to make it 2-1.
The final run of the game came in the bottom of the seventh when the Knights picked up an unearned run off Atlanta's Peter Moylan, making his second rehab appearance of the series.
Parsons (L, 6-4) pitched 6.0 innings with seven hits, two earned runs, two walks and seven strikeouts. Moylan worked 1.0 inning with two hits, one unearned run, one walk and two strikeouts. Atlanta's Brandon McCarthy, also in his second rehab appearance in the series, pitched 1.0 inning with two hits.
Turner tossed 4.0 innings with one hit, one earned run, two walks and one strikeout. Brandon Brennan (W, 1-1) worked 2.0 innings with three strikeouts. Aaron Bummer went 1.0 inning with two strikeouts. Ian Hamilton (S, 9) worked the final 2.0 innings with one hit and two strikeouts.
At the plate, Riley was 1-for-4 with a solo homer and Giardina went 1-for-3.  
Jimenez led Charlotte with a 4-for-4 night and scored once. Skole was 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
The Stripers (65-67) return to Coolray Field Tuesday night for the final homestand of the 2018 season. Tuesday will open a three-game series against the Norfolk Tides. Righty Touki Toussaint (4-0, 1.62) gets the start for Gwinnett, fresh off being named IL Pitcher of the Week on Monday. The Tides will pitch lefty Luis Ysla (0-2, 6.08). Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call on 97.7 and 93.5 FM "The Other Side of the River" beginning at 6:35 p.m.