Stripers Held to Three Hits in 6-0 Loss to Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Aaron Wilkerson and three Louisville relievers combined to three-hit the Gwinnett Stripers (21-29) on Saturday night as the Bats (23-26) won 6-0 at Louisville Slugger Field. Gwinnett trails the series 4-1 headed into the finale tomorrow.

Decisive Plays: Louisville scored the decisive run of the game three batters into the first inning against Jose Suarez (L, 0-1) as Bryson Brigman singled and scored on a Francisco Urbaez single through the drawn-in infield. A five-run fourth for the Bats included an RBI single by Rece Hinds, RBI double by Levi Jordan, and two-run home run by Davis Wendzel (4) to make it 6-0.

Key Contributors: Eddys Leonard (2-for-4, double) and Carlos Rodriguez (1-for-4) had Gwinnett’s three hits. Davis Daniel threw 3.0 scoreless, one-hit innings and struck out three in relief of Suarez. For Louisville, Wilkerson (W, 4-1) tossed 6.0 two-hit frames and struck out five to lead the combined three-hit shutout. Urbaez (2-for-4, double, RBI), Jordan (1-for-3, double, RBI), and Wendzel (1-for-3, homer, 2 RBIs) all had extra-base hits.

Noteworthy: The Stripers are shut out for the fourth time this season and second time this series, having also lost 4-0 in a rain-shortened five-inning game on Tuesday. The game lasted just 2:04, the second shortest nine-inning game for Gwinnett this year. Leonard is batting .375 (6-for-16) with three extra-base hits in the series.

Next Game (Sunday, May 25): Gwinnett at Louisville, 1:05 p.m. at Louisville Slugger Field. RHP Bryce Elder (0-2, 12.15 ERA) goes for the Stripers opposite LHP Wade Miley (1-0, 3.38 ERA) for the Bats. Radio Broadcast: 12:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, May 27): Jacksonville at Gwinnett, 7:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. The first 500 fans to the ballpark will receive a T-shirt modeled after the No. 50 jersey of Stripers manager Kanekoa Texiera (size XL only). Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com.