Stripers Capitalize on Nashville Errors in 6-5 Walk-Off Win

LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia – The Gwinnett Stripers (8-5) earned their first walk-off win of the season on Friday night at Gwinnett Field, with Ben Gamel scoring in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Nashville Sounds (6-6) 6-5. Gamel reached on Nashville’s fifth error of the game and scored from second base on its’ sixth error.

Decisive Plays: The Stripers struck first with four runs in the third inning, two runs coming on an Aaron Schunk two-run home run (3) to left field. Nashville got a run back in each of the fourth and fifth innings before Gwinnett added on with a Chadwick Tromp sacrifice fly in the sixth to make it 5-2. Trailing by three, the Sounds crept closer with a Brock Wilken two-run shot (1) in the eighth. James Karinchak (W, 1-0) surrendered the tying run on a Ramon Rodriguez double in the ninth but kept things tied at 5-5. In the bottom of the ninth, Gamel reached on a fielding error by second baseman Eddys Leonard, and after reaching second on a fielder's choice, broke for third on a wild pitch and scored on the ensuing errant throw from catcher Jeferson Quero.

Key Contributors: Schunk (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI) hit his first homer at Gwinnett Field this season, while Luke Williams (2-for-3) had a multi-hit night to go with a pair of stolen bases. Starter Elieser Hernandez went 5.2 strong innings (6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO) in his longest outing of the season. Karinchak earned the win despite a blown save. For Nashville, Greg Jones (3-for-4, R) had a three-hit night and scored once. Drew Rom (L, 0-1) allowed an unearned run in the ninth.

Noteworthy: Jim Jarvis extended his season-long on-base streak to 13 games with a single in the third. Hernandez became the fourth Stripers' starting pitcher of the series to go at least 5.0 innings with two runs or less allowed. Gwinnett improves to 2-1 in games decided in the last at-bat this season.

Next Game (Saturday, April 10): Gwinnett Stripers vs. Nashville Sounds, 6:05 p.m. at Gwinnett Field. RHP Lucas Braun (1-0, 1.86 ERA) starts for the Stripers opposite LHP Tate Kuehner (1-0, 5.59 ERA) for the Sounds. It's Backyard baseball Night, a tribute to the classic video game series "Backyard Baseball" as the Stripers don their first specialty jersey of the season and host an appearance from one of the game's famous characters Pablo Sanchez. Television Broadcast: 6:00 p.m. on Peachtree Sports Network. Radio Broadcast: 5:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com. Live Video Stream: Bally Sports Live.