Stripers Come Up Short in Ninth, Lose 2-1 to Jacksonville

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The Gwinnett Stripers (9-9) looked to be eyeing up a third walk-off win of the week but left the tying and winning runs in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth inning in a 2-1 loss to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (8-9) on Sunday afternoon at Coolray Field. Gwinnett won the series 4-2.

Decisive Plays: Both Jacksonville runs came on one hit, a two-out single by Griffin Conine off Allan Winans in the fourth. Both runs scored to the line of AJ Smith-Shawver (L, 1-3), who had walked and hit a batter before exiting. Facing Emmanuel Ramirez (S, 9) down 2-0 in the ninth, the Stripers got a lift from a leadoff double from Luke Waddell. Alejo Lopez then reached on an error by shortstop Javier Sanoja. After two strikeouts, Forrest Wall reached on an infield single scoring Waddell to cut the deficit to 2-1. J.P. Martinez looked to be the walk-off hero but struck out looking to end the game.

Key Contributors: Wall (2-for-5, double, RBI) and Waddell (2-for-4, double, run) combined for four of Gwinnett’s seven hits. Following 3.2 innings from Smith-Shawver, Winans pitched 5.1 innings in relief (3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO). Max Meyer (W, 1-3) tossed 5.0 scoreless, three-hit innings for Jacksonville, backed by Conine’s 1-for-4, two-RBI effort.

Noteworthy: Gwinnett is now 4-12 in series finales, including 4-11 on Sundays. Chadwick Tromp walked in his lone plate appearance, extending his on-base streak to 17 games. Winans lowered his team-best ERA to 2.74 in his second relief outing of the year.

Next Game (Friday, July 19): Gwinnett vs. Charlotte, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live, and 7:00 p.m. ET on Peachtree Sports Network. It’s Summer Sports Extravaganza and Fireworks Friday.