Vihuelas Come Up Just Short in Series Finale

NASHVILLE – Finding themselves in a familiar hole, the Vihuelas de Nashville (27-24) rallied but failed to come up with a game-tying or go-ahead hit in the ninth, falling 4-3 to the Charlotte Knights (20-30) on Sunday afternoon at First Horizon Park. Charlotte avoids the sweep by taking the final game of the six-game set.

Entering the bottom of the ninth down a run, los Vihuelas showed signs of life after Francisco Mejía rocked a double into right center field. Chavez Young managed to bloop a single into shallow left to put runners at first and second with one out, then Tyler Black was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two out. However, Charlotte’s Aaron McGarity (S, 2) got Vinny Capra to groundout weakly to second base to finish the contest and preserve the win for the Knights.

Nashville found themselves trailing 4-0 in the middle of the sixth but began to claw their way back into it. Capra lined an RBI double to bring Young home for los Vihuelas’ first run, then Isaac Collins singled to push a second run across in the frame. Collins added a second RBI via groundout in the eighth inning to make it a 4-3 game.

Ryan Middendorf, Harold Chirino and Rob Zastryzny combined to not allow any runs through 3.2 innings of relief. Middendorf entered for Tyler Woessner (1-3) in the sixth; he allowed an inherited runner to score, though it was unearned, then worked a scoreless seventh. Chirino worked around a pair of walks in the eighth, then allowed a pair of knocks in the ninth. Zastryzny stranded a couple of Knights in scoring position with back-to-back strikeouts, keeping the deficit at one for los Vihuelas.

Woessner battled in a losing effort. He gave up four runs though just one of them was earned, as Nashville committed three errors behind the right-hander. He struck out five and allowed seven hits over 5.1 innings on 105 pitches, the most by a Sounds starter this season. Right-hander Jonathan Cannon (2-3) rebounded after taking the loss in the series opener for Charlotte, working six innings and allowing a pair of runs in a quality start.

Young was the lone Nashville batter to have a multi-hit performance. Collins’ two RBI brough his total to seven RBI in the six-game series. Three Vihuelas were hit by a pitch in the contest, the most in a single game since April 24 at Louisville (also 3 HBP).

Nashville heads down I-40 for a series against the Memphis Redbirds, beginning on Tuesday. Right-hander Taylor Clarke (1-0, 3.86) will be the starter in game one of the series. Memphis’ starter is to be announced. The first pitch on Tuesday is at 7:05 p.m. central from AutoZone Park.

Post-Game Notes

• Isaac Collins extended his hitting streak to seven games and on-base streak to 15 games with an RBI single in the sixth. He’s batting .333 (17-for-51) with 12 RBI and 14 runs scored since the on-base streak began on May 10.
• Brewer Hicklen finished 0-for-2 with a walk and hit by pitch. He’s reached base safely in each of his last 11 games and is batting .324 (11-for-34) since May 14.
• Rob Zastryzny worked his 17^th scoreless appearance of the season with a pair of strikeouts. This season, the left-hander has a 1.40 ERA (19.1 IP/3 ER), 0.67 WHIP and .147 opponent batting average.

The Nashville Sounds are the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and play at First Horizon Park. Single-game tickets and season ticket memberships for the remainder of the 2024 season are on sale now. For more information call 615-690-4487 or e-mail [email protected].