Stripers Stifled 5-1 in Season Finale at Jacksonville

Gwinnett finishes 15th season with 72-78 record

AJ Smith-Shawver struck out 10 over 6.0 innings in his final start of the year on Sunday in Jacksonville. (Bernie Connelly)

By Dave Lezotte (@davelezotte)

September 22, 2024

JACKSONVILLE, Florida – A.J. Smith-Shawver struck out 10 batters over 6.0 innings but also yielded four home runs as the Gwinnett Stripers (72-78) finished the 2024 season with a 5-1 loss to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (73-76) on Sunday afternoon at 121 Financial Ballpark. Decisive Plays: Dane Myers hit solo

JACKSONVILLE, Florida – A.J. Smith-Shawver struck out 10 batters over 6.0 innings but also yielded four home runs as the Gwinnett Stripers (72-78) finished the 2024 season with a 5-1 loss to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (73-76) on Sunday afternoon at 121 Financial Ballpark.

Decisive Plays: Dane Myers hit solo home runs in the first and third innings and Graham Pauley added a solo shot in the fourth to give Jacksonville a 3-0 lead. In the sixth, Pauley laced a two-run homer off the right-field foul pole to make it 5-0. Gwinnett ended the shutout in the ninth as Harold Ramirez doubled and scored on a single up the middle by Brian Anderson.

Key Contributors: Smith-Shawver (L, 3-7) worked 6.0 innings (6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 HR, 0 BB, 10 SO) in his final start of the year. Ramirez (2-for-3, double, run) and Drake Baldwin (2-for-4) each had multi-hit efforts. For Jacksonville, Myers (2-for-4, 2 homer, 2 RBIs) and Pauley (2-for-4, 2 homers, 3 RBIs) combined to drive in all five runs.

Noteworthy: The four homers allowed by Smith-Shawver tied the most given up by a Gwinnett pitcher in one game, reached for the fourth time in history (first since Lucas Sims on June 16, 2017 at Columbus). With his 23^rd multi-hit game, Baldwin ended the year with a .298 average. Gwinnett is now 9-6 in season finales all-time.

Next Game (Friday, March 28, 2025): The Gwinnett Stripers open their 16^th season in the International League on the road, taking on the Charlotte Knights at Truist Field in Charlotte, NC. Game time and starting pitchers are TBD.