Stripers Set Gwinnett Record, Walk 16 Times in Rout of Charlotte 

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The Gwinnett Stripers (11-16) recorded five hits, scored 10 runs, and walked 16 times in a 10-2 victory over the Charlotte Knights (12-16) in Tuesday night’s series opener at Coolray Field.

Decisive Plays: The Stripers grabbed the early lead in the first inning without recording a hit, as Luke Waddell drew the last of four walks in the frame allowed by Knights’ starter Daniel Ponce de Leon (L, 0-2). In the second, a sacrifice fly by Braden Shewmake and RBI single by Nick Solak made it 3-0. An answer came from the Knights in the fourth on a two-run homer from Carlos Perez (7) to cut the lead to 3-2. Charlotte loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh, but a pair of athletic, leaping grabs from infielders Shewmake and Hoy Park preserved the lead. Gwinnett blew the game open in the bottom of the inning with a 12-batter, five-walk, six-run seventh. The Stripers scored one more in the eighth to make it 10-2.

Key Contributors: Waddell (0-for-2, 2 RBIs, 3 walks) drew two bases-loaded walks. Joe Hudson (0-for-1, 3 walks) recorded the other three-walk line for Gwinnett. Eli White (3-for-4, double, 2 RBIs, walk) posted his first three-hit outing of the year. Stripers’ starter Beau Burrows (W, 2-0) logged 5.2 innings with two runs on three hits, two walks, and one strikeout. Amidst all the command issues for the Knights, Tanner Banks did not allow a baserunner in his 2.0 innings of relief work.

Noteworthy: The 16 walks worked by the Stripers shattered the previous Gwinnett single-game record of 12 set on July 15, 2021, at Charlotte. Hudson extended his on-base streak to 13 games. With a six-run seventh inning, the Stripers set a new season high for runs in an inning. The eight-run winning margin was also Gwinnett’s largest this season.

Next Game (May 3rd): Gwinnett vs. Charlotte, 7:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com and the Bally Live app. RHP Allan Winans (2-2, 2.88 ERA) for the Stripers vs. Jesse Scholtens (2-1, 5.23 ERA) for the Knights. It’s Wet Nose Wednesday Presented by Sahlen’s at Coolray Field, with free admission for dogs with a paid owner on The Bank.