Late Rally Not Enough as Stripers Fall 4-2 to Durham in Series Finale

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – A ringing triple from Leury Garcia scored a pair as the Gwinnett Stripers (15-17) mounted a ninth inning charge at the Durham Bulls' 4-0 lead (13-20), but despite three cracks at the margin with the tying run at the plate, the potential comeback ran out of steam as the Stripers conceded the series finale 4-2 on Sunday afternoon at Coolray Field. The two teams split the six-game series.

Decisive Plays: Durham established a 1-0 lead on an RBI single from Kameron Misner in the fourth and expanded the lead on a two-run single from Josh Lowe an inning later. A solo homer by C.J. Hinojosa in the ninth padded the margin to 4-0. Gwinnett momentarily had life after the two-run triple from Garcia with nobody out in the ninth, but suffered two strikeouts and a flyout as the comeback came up short.

Key Contributors: Garcia (1-for-4, 3B, 2 RBIs) drove in both of the Stripers' runs and Luis Liberato tallied a pair of doubles (2-for-4). For Durham, Josh Lowe had two RBIs while Misner and Hinojosa each had multi-hit games.

Noteworthy: The eight-game winning streak in the "Xolos de Gwinnett" uniforms was snapped as Gwinnett lost in the Copa uniforms for the first time since August 31, 2022 vs. Jacksonville. With a 1-for-4 day, Forrest Wall has now reached base safely in 86 of 101 career games with the Stripers.

Next Game (Tuesday, May 7): Gwinnett vs. Charlotte, 11:05 a.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 10:50 a.m. ET on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live. RHP AJ Smith-Shawver (1-1, 5.09 ERA) will start for Gwinnett against TBD for Charlotte. It's another Education Day at Coolray Field, as the Stripers welcome area students for a day of fun and baseball in an educational environment.