Williams’ Walk-Off Homer Secures Split of Doubleheader with Norfolk 

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Luke Williams just cleared the left field wall for a walk-off home run to send the Gwinnett Stripers (41-53) to a 2-1 victory in a low-scoring game one of a twin-bill against the Norfolk Tides (60-33) on Thursday night at Coolray Field. Gwinnett dropped the second contest 6-3 as Ryan McKenna smashed a grand slam in the top of the fifth to provide the difference.

Decisive Plays (Game 1): Kyle Stowers’ one-out double in the second moved Cesar Prieto into scoring position for the Tides in front of Daz Cameron, who drove Prieto in with a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0. Gwinnett capitalized on a throwing error by Norfolk second baseman Joey Ortiz in the third inning to even it at 1-1. Williams delivered the second Stripers’ walk-off of the series with a solo homer (9) in the seventh to secure a 2-1 win.

Decisive Plays (Game 2): Solo homers by Ortiz (7) and Stowers (7) in the second inning made it 2-0 Norfolk. A two-run soft liner by Hoy Park in the fourth scored a pair and tied the game at 2-2. McKenna’s grand slam (3) in the fifth broke it open at 6-2. The Stripers scored the game’s final run on a solo homer by Park (4) in the bottom of the seventh to make it 6-3.

Key Contributors: Williams (1-for-6, homer, RBI) won game one while Park (2-for-3, homer, 3 RBIs) drove in all of Gwinnett’s runs in game two. For Norfolk, Cameron (1-for-2, double, RBI) drove in the only Tides’ run in game one and McKenna (1-for-7, homer, 4 RBIs) made his one hit count with a decisive grand slam in game two.

Noteworthy: Williams provided the Stripers’ fourth walk-off win of the season, and his second with the club (RBI single on July 5 in 8-7 win over Omaha).Vaughn Grissom saw his four-game multi-hit streak snapped in game one, but he did reach safely in both games to extend his on-base streak to 18 games. In two starts against Norfolk this year, Nick Margevicius is 1-0 with a 0.90 ERA (1 ER in 10.0 IP).

Next Game (Sunday, July 23): Gwinnett vs. Norfolk, 1:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 12:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live. Starter is TBD for the Stripers while LHP Drew Rom (7-5, 5.14 ERA) is scheduled to pitch for the Tides. It’s Sunday Funday at Coolray Field, with Pregame Catch on the Field and Postgame Kids Run the Bases. It’s also Stripers’ mascot Chopper the Groundhog’s Birthday and area mascots will be in attendance to celebrate the occasion.