Casteel Gives Stripers a Jolt in Jacksonville

Ryan Casteel doubles, homers, and drives in three in Gwinnett's 5-1 win

Ryan Casteel drove in three of Gwinnett's five runs on Thursday night in Jacksonville. (Bernie Connelly)

By Dave Lezotte

June 9, 2022

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Ryan Casteel doubled, homered, and tallied three RBIs to lead the Gwinnett Stripers (29-28) to a 5-1 win over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (29-28) on Thursday night at 121 Financial Ballpark. Preston Tucker also went deep for the Stripers, helping manager Matt Tuiasosopo earn his 100th win

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Ryan Casteel doubled, homered, and tallied three RBIs to lead the Gwinnett Stripers (29-28) to a 5-1 win over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (29-28) on Thursday night at 121 Financial Ballpark. Preston Tucker also went deep for the Stripers, helping manager Matt Tuiasosopo earn his 100th win as a Triple-A skipper.

Decisive Plays: Casteel bounced an automatic double over the left-center field fence to score Joe Dunand and Hernan Perez for a 2-0 lead in the second inning against lefty Matthew Kent (L, 2-5). Kramer Robertson added an RBI single scoring Greyson Jenista in the second. Tucker's solo homer (4) to left off Kent raised the lead to 4-1 in the sixth, and Casteel's opposite-field solo shot (5) to left off Robert Garcia capped the scoring at 5-1 in the ninth.

Key Contributors: Stripers' starter Nolan Kingham allowed an unearned run on four hits and struck out seven over 4.0 innings in a no-decision. Connor Johnstone (W, 1-1) followed with 3.0 hitless frames, striking out four. Victor Vodnik (H, 2) and Michael Tonkin each added scoreless innings to finish the game. Casteel (2-for-4, double, homer, 3 RBIs) and Robertson (2-for-3, RBI, 2 walks) each had multi-hit games for Gwinnett.

Noteworthy: Of Casteel's 12 hits with Gwinnett this season, eight have gone for extra bases (2 doubles, 1 triple, 5 homers). Tuiasosopo is the fourth manager in Gwinnett history to reach the 100-win mark, joining Dave Brundage (293 wins from 2009-12), Brian Snitker (161 wins from 2014-16), and Damon Berryhill (221 wins from 2017-19).

Next Game (Friday, June 10): Gwinnett at Jacksonville, 7:05 p.m. at 121 Financial Ballpark. RHP Bryce Elder (2-2, 5.40 ERA) for the Stripers vs. RHP Elieser Hernandez (NR) for the Jumbo Shrimp. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, June 14): Gwinnett vs. the Indianapolis Indians, 7:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com. It’s a Family Value Tuesday at Coolray Field. Enjoy $2 hot dogs and $1 select desserts, courtesy of Coolray Heating & Cooling.