Stripers Ride Early Offense, Dominant Bullpen to 8-2 Win in Series Finale

Four-run third, three-run fourth gives Gwinnett plenty of offense as bullpen limits Louisville to one run

Eli White supplied a lot of offense with two doubles and three RBI on Sunday afternoon. (Paul Daniel)

April 7, 2024

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Five regular relievers – including spot starter Brian Moran – combined for a masterful pitching performance for the Gwinnett Stripers (6-3) on Sunday, limiting the Louisville Bats (4-5) to just two runs on four hits in an 8-2 victory at Coolray Field. The Stripers’ offense erupted for

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Five regular relievers – including spot starter Brian Moran – combined for a masterful pitching performance for the Gwinnett Stripers (6-3) on Sunday, limiting the Louisville Bats (4-5) to just two runs on four hits in an 8-2 victory at Coolray Field. The Stripers’ offense erupted for seven runs across the third and fourth innings to secure a 4-2 series win.

Decisive Plays: Louisville scored first on an RBI single from Alex McGarry in the second inning. Gwinnett surged in front with a four-run third inning, highlighted by RBI doubles from David Fletcher and Eli White. The offensive outburst continued in the fourth with a two-run double by White and sacrifice fly from Luke Williams to grow the lead to 7-1. An insurance run was tacked on in the sixth with an RBI single by Alejo Lopez. Louisville got a run back on a solo home run by Mike Ford (2) in the seventh to make it 8-2.

Key Contributors: White (2-for-5, 2 doubles, 3 RBIs, 2 steals), and Fletcher (1-for-4, double, 2 RBIs) each had multi-RBI games for Gwinnett. Following 3.0 one-run frames from Moran, Grant Holmes (W, 1-0), Ken Giles, Ben Bowden, and Brooks Wilson combined for a dominant afternoon from the bullpen (6.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO). For Louisville, Ford (2-for-4, double, homer, RBI) had extra-base hits on both of his team-high two hits.

Noteworthy: Moran’s start was just the third of his professional career, coming in his 500^th appearance between MLB and MiLB. With their third win in a row, the Stripers secured their second series win in two tries to start 2024. Gwinnett is now 2-0 in day games, 3-0 when scoring second, and 6-0 when leading after seven innings. Gwinnett went 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts, improving to 20-for-21 to start the season.

Next Game (Tuesday, April 9): Gwinnett at Omaha, 1:05 p.m. ET at Werner Park. RHP Husacar Ynoa (0-0, 0.00 ERA) for the Stripers vs. TBD for the Storm Chasers. Broadcast: 12:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, April 16): Gwinnett vs. Memphis, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live. It's T-Shirt Tuesday (presented by Coolray Heating & Cooling) at Coolray Field as the Stripers will give away limited edition green Stripers shirseys of former Gwinnett star and current Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley.

Eli White