Leonard Plates Tying, Winning Runs in Stripers’ 6-5 Walk-off Victory Over Louisville

LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia – Eddys Leonard belted a solo home run to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, then won it in the ninth with a two-out RBI single to give the Stripers (20-24) a 6-5 victory over the Louisville Bats (21-24) on Sunday afternoon at Coolray Field. Louisville still won the series 4-2.

Decisive Plays: Louisville started the scoring in the first inning with an RBI single from Sal Stewart against rehabbing Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale. Gwinnett tied it at 1-1 in the third inning on a two-out RBI single from Jesus Bastidas. The Bats jumped ahead 4-1 in the fifth with a three-run inning sparked by a homer from Ryan Vilade (15). Gwinnett cut it to 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI triple from Jarred Kelenic. The Stripers kept that momentum going in the sixth inning with an inside-the-park homer from Conner Capel (9) to make it 4-3. The Bats got that run back in the seventh inning on a wild pitch from Gwinnett reliever John Brebbia. The Stripers scored again in the seventh on an RBI groundout off the bat of Luke Waddell and tied the game on a longball from Leonard (16) in the eighth. With the game tied at 5-5 in the ninth, Leonard came through again with his walk-off single to plate Bastidas and send the Stripers home as winners with a 6-5 final.

Key Contributors: Leonard (2-for-5, homer, 2 RBIs) was the hero for the Stripers. Capel (1-for-3, homer, RBI) also delivered with his inside-the-park homer. Cody Milligan (2-for-2) reached in all four of his plate appearances. Making his second start for the Stripers, Sale tossed 4.0 innings (3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO). Wander Suero (W, 1-3) pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the win. For Louisville, Vilade's homer and Stewart's two-RBI day led the offense.

Noteworthy: Leonard's ninth-inning hit gave the Stripers their fourth walk-off win of 2025. Capel's inside-the-park homer was the first for Gwinnett since Lane Adams accomplished the feat on April 9, 2017 vs. Durham. Bastidas and Kelenic both recorded a hit in all six games of the series. The Stripers are now 12-7 on Sundays this season.

Next Game (Tuesday, August 19): Gwinnett Stripers vs. Memphis Redbirds, 7:45 p.m. at AutoZone Park. Radio Broadcast: 7:30 p.m. on MyCountry993.com.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, August 26): Gwinnett Stripers vs. Norfolk Tides, 7:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. The first 500 fans to the ballpark will receive a Xolos de Gwinnett Tie Dye T-Shirt presented by Coolray Heating & Cooling (size XL only). The Stripers will transform into the Xolos de Gwinnett as part of MiLB's Copa de la Diversion. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com. Live Video Stream: Bally Sports Live.