Shewmake, Smith-Shawver Send Stripers to 7-3 Win in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Braden Shewmake launched a first-inning three-run home run to stake the Gwinnett Stripers (49-58) to a 4-0 lead, and AJ Smith-Shawver delivered 6.0 innings of three-run baseball in a 7-3 victory over the Charlotte Knights (41-68) on Tuesday night at Truist Field.

Decisive Plays: Vaughn Grissom opened the scoring with an RBI single in the top of the first, and shortly after Shewmake belted a 408-foot three-run homer (13) to right to make it 4-0. Smith-Shawver had his only misstep in the second when he yielded a three-run clout to Erik Gonzalez (4) to cut the Stripers’ lead to 4-3. Luke Williams lifted a 428-foot solo homer (5) to left-center as part of a two-run fifth that built the lead back to 6-3. Gwinnett’s final run came on a wild pitch in the ninth.

Key Contributors: Shewmake (1-for-4, homer, 4 RBIs) added a sacrifice fly in his four-RBI effort. Williams (2-for-5, homer, RBI, stolen base) and Grissom (2-for-3, double, RBI) both had multi-hit efforts. Smith-Shawver (W, 2-2) pitched 6.0 innings (5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO) for his second Triple-A quality start. For Charlotte, Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with the homer and three RBIs.

Noteworthy: Grissom’s first-inning RBI single extended his on-base streak to 31 games, the fifth-longest streak in Gwinnett history. Rehabbing Atlanta Braves’ left-hander Dylan Lee struck out one over 1.0 scoreless inning in relief. Gwinnett is now 11-9 in 20 series openers this season.

Next Game (Wednesday, August 9): Gwinnett at Charlotte,12:05 p.m. ET at Truist Field. LHP Jared Shuster (3-4, 6.27 ERA) for the Stripers vs. RHP Chase Solesky (0-7, 7.53 ERA) for the Knights. Broadcast: 11:50 a.m. ET on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, August 22): Gwinnett vs. Nashville, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live.It’s Family Value Tuesday at Coolray Field, with $2 Hot Dogs and $1 Desserts.