Five-run fifth vaults Shrimp over Knights

CHARLOTTE – A five-run sixth inning propelled the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to an 11-3 win on Saturday over the Charlotte Knights from Truist Field.

With Charlotte (61-76, 25-37) ahead 3-2, Deyvison De Los Santos reached on an error to begin the sixth before Joe Mack singled him to third. Kemp Alderman lifted a sacrifice fly to tie the game. Following a Matthew Etzel single, Nathan Martorella’s three-run home run off Dalton Roach (1-1) gave Jacksonville (81-56, 34-28) a lead they would not relinquish. Johnny Olmstead then doubled and moved to third on a Mark Coley single. Jacob Berry’s sacrifice fly capped a five-run inning to make it 7-3.

The Jumbo Shrimp added to their lead in the eighth. Alderman singled and an error put runners on first and second. Two batters later, Olmstead doubled in the pair to widen the gap to 9-3.

Mack added a two-run homer in the ninth to set the margin at 11-3.

Jacksonville used a two-out rally in the first to open up the scoring. An error put De Los Santos on with two down and then Mack doubled. Alderman’s two-run single to right made it 2-0 in favor of the Jumbo Shrimp.

The Knights finally answered in the fifth. Hitless through the first 4.2 innings, Corey Julks singled, Ben Cowles walked and Tim Elko singled to load the bases. Andre Lipcius promptly cleared them with a three-run double to put Charlotte in front at 3-2.

In his Triple-A debut, Thomas White struck out 10 over 4.2 innings. William Kempner (2-0) earned the win in relief with 2.1 scoreless frames. Zach McCambley tossed 2.0 shutout innings to seal the win.

Jacksonville conclues their series with Charlotte with Sunday’s 1:05 p.m. contest. LHP Patrick Monteverde (5-5, 5.02 ERA) makes the start for the Jumbo Shrimp against Knights RHP Duncan Davitt (1-4, 5.26 ERA). Coverage begins at 12:50 p.m. ET on ESPN 690AM and www.ESPN690.com.

ABOUT THE JUMBO SHRIMP: The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins and compete in the International League. The team calls VyStar Ballpark home for baseball but also a wide variety of additional community focused events with a goal of providing Affordable, Family, FUN to Northeast Florida. Winners of many marketing and sales awards and recognition since the team was rebranded prior to the 2017 season, the Jumbo Shrimp continually lead the state of Florida in attendance across all minor league professional sports organizations.