Stripers Score Four in 10th to Beat Memphis 7-3

Drew Lugbauer, Justin Dean each tally RBI singles in extra frame

Drew Lugbauer put the Stripers ahead for good with an RBI single in the 10th inning on Thursday night. (Jamie Spaar)

By Dave Lezotte (@davelezotte)

August 31, 2023

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – RBI singles by Drew Lugbauer and Justin Dean highlighted a four-run 10th inning as the Gwinnett Stripers (59-68) outlasted the Memphis Redbirds (63-66) 7-3 on Thursday night at AutoZone Park. Gwinnett improved to 4-6 in extra-inning contests with the win. Decisive Plays: Gwinnett held a 3-1 lead

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – RBI singles by Drew Lugbauer and Justin Dean highlighted a four-run 10^th inning as the Gwinnett Stripers (59-68) outlasted the Memphis Redbirds (63-66) 7-3 on Thursday night at AutoZone Park. Gwinnett improved to 4-6 in extra-inning contests with the win.

Decisive Plays: Gwinnett held a 3-1 lead midway through the eighth inning thanks to a solo home run by Chadwick Tromp (10) in the sixth and an RBI single by Magneuris Sierra in the eighth. Memphis tied it at 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run homer by Chase Pinder (4). Still tied in the 10^th, Lugbauer singled past the drawn-in infield to score Vaughn Grissom for the decisive run. Later in the inning, a wild pitch scored Joe Dunand, Dean legged out an infield single to score Lugbauer, and Dalton Guthrie drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 7-3.

Key Contributors: Dunand (3-for-5, double), Tromp (2-for-4, homer, RBI), and Dean (2-for-4, RBI, 2 steals) each had multi-hit games for the Stripers. Lugbauer (1-for-5) tallied the game-winning RBI. Grant Holmes (W, 5-3) struck out two over 1.1 one-hit innings to earn the win in relief. For the Redbirds, Pinder went 1-for-1 with the homer and two RBIs.

Noteworthy: Grissom went 1-for-6 to extend his hitting streak to a team-best 11 games and his on-base streak to 39 games. The on-base streak is now the second-longest in Gwinnett history behind only Wes Timmons (48 games in 2009). Michael Soroka started and threw 75 pitches over 4.1 innings of one-run baseball, striking out five in a no-decision. With the win, Gwinnett improved to 10-15 in last-at-bat decisions this year.

Next Game (Friday, September 1**):* Gwinnett at Memphis, 8:05 p.m. ET at AutoZone Park. Broadcast: 7:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live. RHP *Allan Winans** (9-3, 2.75 ERA) starts for the Stripers vs. LHP Connor Thomas (4-4, 5.52 ERA) for the Redbirds.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, September 5): Gwinnett vs. Worcester 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live. It’s Family Value Tuesday presented by Coolray Heating & Cooling, with $2 hot dogs and $1 desserts.