Knights Fly Past the Bats 12-4 on Wednesday
(Uptown Charlotte, NC) - It was a great all-around night for Knights baseball in the Queen City on Wednesday. Jordan Danks made team history and the Knights bats came together to put up a stunning offensive performance against the Bats.
Danks recorded the 400th hit of his Knights career, all nine Charlotte batters had at least one hit and a run scored, and the Charlotte Knights beat the Louisville Bats in a commanding 12-4 win on Wednesday in game two of their four-game series from BB&T Ballpark. The win was Charlotte's fifth over their last six games and third straight.
The Knights, who lead the International League in home runs, added two more to their season total, which is now at 89 for the season. Matt Davidson and Andy Wilkins both homered on the evening and the Charlotte duo is tied for the team lead with 13 apiece. Wilkins went 3-for-4 with the home run, two runs scored, and two RBIs. He was a triple short of hitting for the cycle. Davidson was 1-for-5 with the home run and two RBIs. Josh Phegley and Blake Tekotte had two hits each and Marcus Semien had three RBIs.
With all of the hitting going on in Wednesday's game, it's possible to miss what Danks did with his bat. His performance through the years with the Knights, however, is a "can't miss".
Danks, who is in his fifth season with the Knights, continued to move up the ranks in Knights franchise history. In his second at-bat of the game, the Austin, TX native doubled and became just the second player ever to have 400 hits in a Knights uniform. He ranks second all-time in franchise history in hits behind Joe Borchard (439). Danks finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBIs and one run scored. Overall, he now has 401 career Knights hits, 87 doubles, and 202 RBIs in 420 games.
Charlotte starter Deunte Heath (4-1, 2.65) earned his fourth win of the season and was solid over his six innings of work. Heath, who is in his fourth season with the Knights, gave up two runs on seven hits, while striking out seven batters. He's won three consecutive decisions and four of his six starts this year. Reliever Maikel Cleto allowed two runs on five hits over three innings to earn his second save of the year.
The Knights and Bats will continue their series on Thursday with game three. LHP Eric Surkamp (3-4, 4.54) gets the nod for the Knights against RHP Chien-Ming Wang (7-5, 3.76) of the Bats. Surkamp is the reigning International League Pitcher of the Week.
Pre-game radio coverage of Thursday's 7:05 p.m. game starts at 6:50 p.m. on ESPN Radio 730 AM, WRHI (94.3 FM and 1340 AM), and online at www.charlotteknights.com. The "Voice of the Charlotte Knights" Matt Swierad and Knights broadcaster Mike Pacheco will have the call for all of the action. Thursday's game features another Thirsty Thursday, presented by Hickory Tavern and it's Irish Heritage Night at the ballpark.