Small Leads Vihuelas de Nashville to Victory

Ethan Small (W, 4-3) had a season high 10 strikeouts, tossing 7.0 innings of one-run baseball as the Vihuelas de Nashville came out on top 2-1 in front of 10,914 fans at First Horizon Park on Saturday night.

Gwinnett got on the board first with a run in the opening inning, but that was the only run the visitors would bring across. Small settled in to retire 10-straight batters beginning in the third inning. He also piled up a season-best 10 strikeouts in his longest start of the season (7.0 innings).

The pitcher’s duel kept the game low scoring, but the eventual winning runs came in Nashville’s half of the fourth inning. With two outs and Abraham Almonte on first base, David Dahl crushed a two-run blast to right field, giving the Vihuelas all of the offense they would need.

After Small’s exit, the Nashville bullpen picked up where the southpaw left off. Hobie Harris retired the side in order in the eighth inning for a hold. Luke Barker (S, 3) added a couple of strikeouts and got the save with a scoreless ninth inning.

Nashville finished with three hits on the nights. Almonte, Dahl and Tyler White each had a knock for Las Vihuelas. The Nashville arms limited Gwinnett to four hits.

Las Vihuelas conclude the six-game series tomorrow night at First Horizon Park. Right-hander Josh Lindblom (2-4, 3.54) pitches for Nashville, going against right-hander Bryce Elder (3-4, 5.57) going for Gwinnett. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• Tonight’s attendance of 10,914 was the eighth sellout of the season and 116th in ballpark history. The Sounds lead Triple-A Baseball in average attendance with 7,771 fans per game.
• Ethan Small’s 10-strikeout game was the first 10+ strikeout outing by a Sounds pitcher since Josh Lindblom struck out 12 on August 20, 2021 at Memphis. It was also his first start of 7 innings since June 18, 2021 at Rocket City while playing for Double-A Biloxi.
• David Dahl’s two-run homer was his second go-ahead home run of the season and Nashville’s 15th this year.
• Tonight’s game time of 1:59 was the first sub-two-hour game for the Sounds this season.

The Nashville Sounds are the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and play at First Horizon Park. Single-game tickets are on sale now for all home games in 2022. For more information call 615-690-4487 or e-mail [email protected].