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Knights Fall to Bulls 12-9 on Friday

Charlotte Rallied for Eight Runs in the Bottom of the Ninth Inning
Jake Burger had a solid day at the plate. (Laura Wolff/Charlotte Knights)
May 12, 2023

(UPTOWN CHARLOTTE, NC) -- The Charlotte Knights fell to the Durham Bulls by a score of 12-9 in front of a sell-out crowd of 10,244 fans on Friday night at Truist Field. The Knights rallied for eight runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but fell just short in

(UPTOWN CHARLOTTE, NC) -- The Charlotte Knights fell to the Durham Bulls by a score of 12-9 in front of a sell-out crowd of 10,244 fans on Friday night at Truist Field. The Knights rallied for eight runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but fell just short in the end.

Right-handed pitcher Sean Burke (0-2, 9.49) was stuck with the loss after giving up four runs over 3.1 innings pitched while striking out two batters and walking five. Evan McKendry (4-0, 4.36) took home the win for Durham as he pitched seven scoreless innings.

Infielder Jake Burger shined at the plate in his rehab outing, going 2-4 with two RBI. Outfielder Clint Frazier continued his hot streak at the plate extending his hit streak to six games when he singled on a line drive in the second inning. Frazier ended the night 3-4 with two doubles, two RBI, two runs scored and a walk. Outfielder Stephen Piscotty hit a two-run homer for the Knights to cap off three RBI night.

The Bulls took the lead in the first inning on an RBI double, followed by a two-run homer in the second inning to go up 3-0. In the third inning, Frazier made a run-saving leaping catch in right field to close the inning for the Knights.

A three-run homer and a two-run homer in the fourth inning broke the game open for the Bulls putting them ahead 8-0. In the seventh inning, Durham added a run from an RBI single to go up 9-0. The Bulls added on three more runs in the eighth inning to extend their lead to 12-0 on an RBI double, sacrifice fly and an RBI groundout.

Charlotte got on the board when Burger hit an RBI infield single to cut into the lead 12-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning. In the top of the ninth inning, right-handed pitcher Alex Mateo pitched a perfect inning facing three batters and giving up three flyouts.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Piscotty drilled a two-run homer over the left field wall to cut the lead down to 12-3. An RBI walk and a sacrifice fly made it 12-5. An RBI double brought another run in to cut the lead down to 12-6. A ground-rule double from Frazier brought in two more runs to make it 12-8.

Piscotty hit an RBI single to make it 12-9. The Knights made a valiant comeback but couldn't pull it off with the tying run making the out. The Bulls tied up the series after the narrow win.

The Knights will continue the six-game home series against the Durham Bulls (Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays) on Saturday night. The "Voice of the Knights" Matt Swierad and long-time Knights broadcaster Mike Pacheco will have the call for all of the action on www.CharlotteKnights.com. First pitch of game five on Saturday is set for 7:04 p.m.