CHARLOTTE, NC. – The Gwinnett Stripers (34-23) defeated the Charlotte Knights (30-25) 7-5 Monday night in the first of a three-game series at BB&T Ballpark. Gwinnett hit three more homers in the win to up the International League leading total to 100.

Scoring Recap: Gwinnett starting pitcher Huascar Ynoa gave up the first run of the game, a solo homer in the bottom of the first to Daniel Palka (11). However, in the second, Travis Demeritte (13) connected with a grand slam off Charlotte starting pitcher Colton Turner andAdam Duvall followed with a solo homer to right to put the Stripers up 5-1. In the fourth, an RBI double by Pedro Florimon off Turner pushed the lead to 6-1. Matt Skole (15) crushed a homer to center off Ynoa in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Gwinnett lead to 6-2. However, Duvall (17) hit his second homer of the game, a solo shot to center to push the lead back to 7-2. In the bottom of the fifth reliever Shane Carle gave up a two-run triple to center to Adam Engel, cutting the lead to 7-5.

Stripers Stats: Ynoa went 4.0 innings with five hits, two earned runs and four strikeouts. Carle gave up four hits and three earned runs in 2.0 innings. Jason Creasy (W, 2-0) worked 2.0 innings with three strikeouts to earn the win. Rafael De Paula (S, 6) worked the bottom of the ninth for the save with a hit, a walk and two strikeouts. Sean Kazmar Jr. was 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs. Demeritte was 1-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs. Duvall was 2-for-4 with two solo homers. Florimon was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Knights  Stats: Turner (L, 3-3) gave up all seven runs in 5.0 innings with 11 hits. The bullpen of Caleb Frare, Zach Thompson, Connor Walsh and Carson Fulmer combined to give up only two hits while striking out seven in the final 4.0 innings. Offensively, Skole was 2-for-5 with a solo homer and two runs. Palka was 2-for-5 with two solo homers. Seby Zavala and Engel were each 2-for-4.

Postgame Notes: The Stripers won their third in a row and have now won five of the seven games on the current nine-game road trip. Demeritte’s second inning grand slam pushed his on-base streak to 35 games dating back to 4/24.

Next Game (Tuesday, June 4): Gwinnett at Charlotte, 7:04 p.m. RHP Kyle Wright (3-2, 6.90 ERA) will pitch for the Stripers vs. RHP Dylan Cease (4-2, 3.26 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 11^th 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.