Eddys Leonard Homers Twice in Loss to Charlotte

Charlotte, NC - Nashville matched their season-high in runs in a losing effort on Friday night at Truist Field with an 11-9 loss to the Knights. It was a third straight loss for Nashville which matches a season-long slide as the Sounds fall back to .500 on the year. Eddys Leonard was one of three Nashville batters to record a multi-hit game at the plate and did so with a pair of home runs for his second multi-HR game of the year.

Jarred Kelenic put the Knights in front with a solo homer off Coleman Crow in the bottom of the first inning. It was the third straight game with a home run for Kelenic in the series. Leonard evened the score with his first home run of the game off former Sounds pitcher Shane Smith. Trailing again after the second, Nashville took a 5-2 lead in the top of the third when Brock Wilken hit a three-RBI triple after two walks and hit by pitch started the inning. Jett Williams capped the four-run inning with a RBI single to score Wilken and provide Crow a little bit of run support for the time being.

The bases were loaded
Then Brock Wilken came to the plate pic.twitter.com/nUFNQDpNjC

— Nashville Sounds (@nashvillesounds) April 25, 2026

The back-and-forth continued with the Knights able to inch closer with back-to-back RBI doubles in the bottom of the third to draw within a run. Michael Turner and Jacob Gonzalez did all the heavy lifting for the Knights in a four-run bottom of the fourth to re-take an 8-5 lead. Gonzalez connected on his first of two three-run home runs on the game as the White Sox no. 24-rated prospect turned in a career-high seven RBI and his second multi-HR game of the season as well.

Leonard's second home run of the game came on the first pitch in the top of the sixth inning off Adisyn Coffey, but the next three Nashville batters were retired in order as the Sounds still trailed 8-6. Gonzalez made it 11-6 with a homer off Jacob Waguespack in the bottom of the sixth. Zero of the three runs allowed by Waguespack were earned as a one-out throwing error helped extend the inning and helped to give Gonzalez the at-bat after Waguespack got Kelenic to strikeout which should have ended the inning.

Nashville chipped away and scored the final three runs of the game to make it close in the end. Cooper Pratt added his lone hit of the night with a single to begin the seventh inning and moved to third on Luis Lara's double. Jeferson Quero picked up his 13th RBI of the year with a single to score Pratt while Williams added his second hit and RBI of the night to bring home Lara and make it 11-8. Consecutive strikeouts for Wikelman Gonzalez with the potential tying run at the plate got the Knights out the jam to maintain their three-run advantage.

Lara singled home Freddy Zamora for the final run of the game after a hit by pitch put Zamora aboard to start the top of the eighth for Nashville. Put in the same situation as the seventh, Nashville was unable to take advantage of having the tying-run at the plate with just one out. A ground out and strike out left two more stranded, and the Knights worked a 1-2-3 top of the ninth to end all chances for a Sounds comeback. Nashville ended the game just 5-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base in the two-run loss.

The seven-game series continues with a doubleheader set for Saturday in Charlotte. The Sounds will need to sweep the doubleheader for a chance to still take the series in Sunday's finale. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 3:05 pm CT.

POSTGAME NOTES:

BOGO: Eddys Leonard produced his second multi-HR game of the season and the 10th of his professional career on Friday night. He's the only Sounds player to record a multi-HR game this season and now leads the team with his four round trippers on the year. The Sounds had eight multi-HR performances a season ago, including multiple multi-HR games from Bobby Dalbec (7/23 vs. Charlotte, 6/15 at Norfolk) and Daz Cameron (7/18 vs. Indianapolis, 4/11 vs. Memphis). The Sounds now have 11 different multi-HR games against Charlotte since the start of the 2021 season; the next closest is the seven multi-HR games Nashville batters have had against Memphis during the same time period.

Eddys Leonard takes his second trip around the bases tonight.

His second multi-HR game this season! pic.twitter.com/CMAsSHHUrF

— Nashville Sounds (@nashvillesounds) April 25, 2026

HOW IT CROWS: Brewers no. 26-rated prospect Coleman Crow allowed a career-high eight earned runs and tied his single-game career-high with eight runs allowed, three home runs, and four walks. It was a tough night for Crow who was making his first appearance since a strong MLB debut with Milwaukee on April 17 against the Marlins in Miami. He also allowed eight runs on July 16, 2021, in his rookie season with Low-A Inland Empire (LAA). Friday night was the first time he allowed three home runs in a game since August 2, 2022, when he was with Double-A Rocket City against the then Tennessee Smokies, and he last walked four in a game on June 25, 2022, on the road in Birmingham with Rocket City.

LARA BOUT IT: Brewers no. 11-rated prospect Luis Lara recorded his second straight multi-hit game, finishing the night 2-for-4 with a double, RBI, walk, and two runs scored. It was his ninth multi-hit game through 23 games played in his first season at Triple-A. The 21-year-old currently ranks tied for second in the International League with 30 hits (T-4th in Triple-A), leads the International League in runs (24, T-2nd in Triple-A), ranks fifth in AVG (.353) in the IL and is 10th overall in Triple-A, and sixth in the IL (10th in Triple-A) with his .455 OBP.

THROUGH THE QUAD: Eddys Leonard extended his current hitting streak to eight straight games and has reached base in 17 consecutive games. With his multi-HR performance on Friday, Leonard is hitting .464 over his last eight games with a 1.281 OPS. During his hitting streak, he has three straight multi-hit games and five 2+ hit games overall. His 17-game on-base streak is currently tied for the seventh-longest overall in the International League.