(UPTOWN CHARLOTTE, NC) - The Charlotte Knights broke a late tie in the bottom of the eighth then held on to defeat the Louisville Bats 4-3 on Friday night at BB&T Ballpark in game two of their four-game series.
(UPTOWN CHARLOTTE, NC) - The Charlotte Knights broke a late tie in the bottom of the eighth then held on to defeat the Louisville Bats 4-3 on Friday night at BB&T Ballpark in game two of their four-game series.
The win is the Knights' fourth in a row and puts them a season-high nine games over .500 at 34-25.
With the score tied in the bottom of the eighth, Seby Zavala started the Charlotte rally with a walk and Ryan Goins doubled to put runners on second and third. Iván De Jesús Jr. then lifted a fly ball to center field. After the ball was caught, Zavala sprinted home and slid in with the go-ahead run for a sacrifice fly to give the Knights a 3-2 lead. Joel Booker followed with a sharp single to center for his first Triple-A RBI, scoring Goins to double the Charlotte lead to 4-2.
In the ninth, Thyago Vieira gave up a leadoff home run and a one-out double as the Bats threatened to tie the game. But with the tying run on third and two outs, Vieira (S, 4) induced a ground out from Christian Colón to end the game and earn his team-leading fourth save of the season.
The Knights began the night with veteran Ross Detwiler on the mound. The lefty was sharp, giving up just one earned run on four hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
Goins tied the game in the fourth with a solo home run to left-center, his fourth of the season. Alcides Escobar then put the Knights in front 2-1 in the fifth with an RBI ground out.
Louisville tied the game off Charlotte reliever Zach Thompson in the sixth. But the Charlotte bullpen rebounded as Caleb Frare entered with the go-ahead run on second base and two outs in the seventh and struck out Brian O'Grady to end the threat before pitching a scoreless eighth. That would set the stage for the late offensive heroics.
Offensively, Goins led the way by going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run. In his first rehab game with Charlotte, Chicago White Sox outfielder Jon Jay went 2-for-4 with a stolen base.
Charlotte and Louisville continue their series on Saturday night. Colton Turner (3-3, 6.00) is set to start for Charlotte. Pre-game radio coverage of the 7:04 p.m. game is set for 6:50 p.m. on 730 The Game ESPN Charlotte. The "Voice of the Charlotte Knights" Matt Swierad and long-time Knights radio broadcaster Mike Pacheco will have the call for all of the action.
