Stripers Drop Hit-Laden Finale to Charlotte, 18-11

Homers from Park and White, near-cycle from Fuentes not nearly enough for Gwinnett

Hoy Park blasted his first homer of the season in a four-RBI effort for the Stripers on Sunday. (Josh Conner)

By Dave Lezotte (@davelezotte)

May 7, 2023

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – A game that featured 39 combined hits saw the Charlotte Knights (16-17) score 10 early runs on the way to an 18-11 victory over the Gwinnett Stripers (12-20) on Sunday afternoon at Coolray Field. Hoy Park and Eli White both homered, and Joshua Fuentes finished a homer

Decisive Plays: The Knights scored 10 runs on eight hits against right-hander Tanner Gordon (L, 0-1) to take a 10-0 lead through two innings. Park’s two-run home run (1) to right-center cut it to 10-2 in the third, but Charlotte responded with five runs off Beau Burrows in the fifth to go up 15-2. White’s solo shot to left (5) made it 15-3 in the bottom of the fifth. Trailing 18-4 entering the bottom of the ninth, the Stripers scored seven runs on six hits highlighted by an RBI double from Forrest Wall and two-run double from Park. The comeback ended seven runs short at 18-11.

Key Contributors: Fuentes (3-for-5, double, triple, 2 runs), Wall (3-for-5, 2 doubles, run, RBI), and Vaughn Grissom (3-for-4, double, run) all had three-hit games for Gwinnett, while Park had a game-high four RBIs (2-for-5, double, homer). Every member of the Knights’ starting lineup had a multi-hit game, led by Victor Reyes (3-for-6, double, 3 RBIs), Yoan Moncada (3-for-3, homer, 2 RBIs), Erik Gonzalez (3-for-5, 2 RBIs), and Zach Remillard (3-for-7, double, 3 runs). Charlotte starter Daniel Ponce de Leon (W, 1-2) yielded three runs over 5.0 innings.

Noteworthy: The 23 hits allowed by Stripers pitchers matched a Gwinnett single-game record set on July 13, 2012 at Louisville. Rehabbing Atlanta Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud caught the first five innings of the game and went 0-for-2 with a walk in his third game with Gwinnett. Gordon became the eighth player to make his Triple-A debut with the Stripers this season, the second as a starting pitcher.

Next Game (Tuesday, May 9): Gwinnett at Nashville, 7:35 p.m. ET at First Horizon Park. Starting pitchers for the Stripers and Sounds are TBD. Broadcast: 7:20 p.m. on MyCountry993.com and the Bally Live app.

Next Game (Tuesday, May 23): Gwinnett vs. Durham, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com and the Bally Live app. It’s Family Value Tuesday, presented by Coolray Heating & Cooling, with hot dogs for $2 and desserts for $1.