LAWRENCEVILLE, GA – The Charlotte Knights dropped game five of their six-game series against the Gwinnett Stripers 5-1 on Saturday evening. Despite the loss, Charlotte’s bullpen was once again a bright spot with five scoreless innings pitched.
A 30-minute rain delay at the beginning of the contest may have thrown the Knights offense out of rhythm as well as their starting pitcher, Duncan Davitt. The right-hander battled through three innings and was touched up for three runs in the first. Gwinnett added two more in the third and that was enough cushion to take them the rest of the way.
Tyler Schweitzer, Garrett Schoenle, and Riley Gowens all delivered scoreless appearances behind Davitt; however, the Knights managed only one run against the Stripers’ arms. That run came in the form of a Rikuu Nishida RBI single in the top of the seventh frame.
Nishida’s single was one of the four hits Charlotte totaled in the ballgame. Josh Breaux had the lone extra-base hit, a one-out double in the third. Breaux was left stranded at third base. Jacob Gonzalez and Austin Hays each added a single to the box score.
The series currently sits at three-games-to-two in favor of the Knights. Charlotte can claim their first road series win of the season with a victory on Sunday. The Knights split on their last road trip and have already clinched at worst a split this week in Lawrenceville. Sunday’s contest at Gwinnett Field is scheduled for 1:05pm ET.