LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - The Gwinnett Stripers (0-1) fell 5-4 to the Columbus Clippers (1-0) in Game 1 of the Governors' Cup Semifinals on Wednesday night at Coolray Field. Austin Riley and Adam Duvall hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, but the Stripers managed just six hits in the
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - The Gwinnett Stripers (0-1) fell 5-4 to the Columbus Clippers (1-0) in Game 1 of the Governors' Cup Semifinals on Wednesday night at Coolray Field. Austin Riley and Adam Duvall hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, but the Stripers managed just six hits in the game.
Scoring Recap: Down 3-0 in the bottom of the first, Riley (1) hit a 381-foot two-run homer to right-center off Michael Peoples. Duvall then followed with a 403-foot solo homer to center off Peoples to tie the game at 3-3. In the third, Columbus took a 5-3 lead on RBI singles by Bobby Bradley and Ryan Lavarnway. John Ryan Murphy hit a two-out RBI single in the seventh to cut the deficit to 5-4, but the Stripers couldn't plate the tying run.
Stripers Stats: Making his first career postseason start, Tucker Davidson (L, 0-1) gave up five runs (four earned) on eight hits, walked three, and struck out three in 3.2 innings. Ben Rowen, Phil Pfeifer, and Grant Dayton combined for 5.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Riley went 1-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs. Duvall went 1-for-3 with a homer and one RBI.
Clippers Stats: Peoples (W, 1-0) pitched 5.1 innings with four runs (three earned) on five hits, three walks, and four strikeouts. Relievers Kyle Nelson (H, 1), Jefry Rodriguez (H, 1), and James Karinchak (S, 1) combined on 3.2 scoreless innings. At the plate, Bradley went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. Mark Mathias went 2-for-5 with one RBI.
Quote: "Our bullpen was great," Rowen said. "They have some potent bats, we did a good job of stopping them and kept ourselves in the game."
Postgame Notes: The back-to-back homers by Riley and Duvall were the second set in Gwinnett playoff history, the first since Tyler Moore (grand slam) and Reid Brignac (solo) accomplished the feat in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the 2016 Governors' Cup Semifinals vs. Columbus on September 9, 2016.
Next Game (Thursday, September 5): Governors' Cup Semifinals Game 2, Gwinnett vs. Columbus, 7:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. RHP Ian Anderson (1-2, 6.57 ERA) for the Stripers vs. LHP Logan Allen (1-1, 7.66 ERA) for the Clippers. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on 97.7 and 93.5 FM "The Other Side of the River."
