CHARLOTTE, NC – Charlotte’s Ryan Goins lined a three-run home run over the right-field fence in the bottom of the eighth inning, sending the Knights (42-35) to a 9-6 win over the Gwinnett Stripers (43-34) in the opener of the two-game series on Wednesday night at BB&T Ballpark.
Scoring Recap: The Stripers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by Rafael Ortegaand run-scoring error by Knights’ right fielder Paulo Orlando. The Knights answered with five runs off Huascar Ynoa to take a 5-2 lead through three innings. The clubs traded runs in the fourth. In the fifth, Ortega (15) lined a three-run home run to right off Donny Roach to tie the game at 6-6. That score held until the eighth, when Goins (7) went deep to right off Dan Winkler to put the Knights ahead 9-6.
Stripers Stats: Ynoa was tagged for six runs on seven hits over 3.2 innings. Wes Parsons kept Gwinnett in the game with 3.1 scoreless, one-hit innings in relief. Winkler (L, 0-1) yielded three runs over 1.0 inning. Offensively, Ortega went 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs and Andres Blanco went 1-for-5 with an RBI.
Knights Stats: Roach (W, 2-3) won despite allowing four runs on five hits over 5.0 innings. Jimmy Cordero (S, 1) pitched a scoreless ninth. Goins went 2-for-2 with a double, homer, two runs, and three RBIs. Seby Zavala also homered, finishing 1-for-2 with two RBIs.
Postgame Notes: Ortega’s homer was his second of the road trip and gives him hits in 28 of his last 32 games. Travis Demeritte went 2-for-5 to push his team-leading average to .301. Ryan LaMarre went 2-for-4 with a double, his fifth multi-hit effort in his last seven games.
Next Game (Thursday, June 27): Gwinnett at Charlotte, 7:04 p.m. at BB&T Ballpark. TBD for the Stripers vs. RHP Dylan Cease (5-2, 4.69 ERA) for the Knights. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on 97.7 and 93.5 FM “The Other Side of the River.”
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The Gwinnett Stripers are the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, playing their 11th season at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, Ga. For tickets, team merchandise or more information, visit GoStripers.com. Follow the Stripers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at GoStripers.