MOOSIC, PA — The Charlotte Knights’ offense came to party on Saturday night as eight of the nine batters recorded hits in the 9-6 victory over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
The Knights jumped out early to a one-run lead in the second inning on an RBI single from Caden Connor before a 17-minute weather delay seemed like it could have stalled the growing rally by Charlotte.
Andy Weber put away any fear of that happening when he crushed a ball 375 feet over the right-field wall of PNC Field, putting the Knights up 4-0 early in the contest.
It was not long before the RailRiders had found an answer back with a five-run third inning, kicked off by a solo homer by Yanquiel Fernández giving them a narrow 5-4 lead.
In the fifth inning, that lead became short-lived as Michael Turner tied it with an RBI double and then a bases-loaded walk from Korey Lee and an RBI groundout by Riley Unroe reclaimed the lead for the Knights at 7-5.
Insurance runs came early in the sixth inning for Charlotte as a leadoff double by Weber was capitalized on by an RBI triple roped down the line by Rikuu Nishida, followed by an RBI single from Mario Camilletti that had them up 9-5.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre attempted a ninth inning comeback, chipping away one run with an RBI single from Mitch Garver, but it was not enough as the Knights took the 3-2 series lead after winning 9-6.
David Sandlin took home the win on the mound, moving to 2-0 on the year after throwing the first six innings, giving up four earned runs in the contest on eight hits and four walks while striking out four batters.
Nick Altermatt and Jaden Woods combined to give up one run on one hit and two walks over the final three innings. The duo helped secure the win for Charlotte out of the bullpen.
Tomorrow, the Knights will look to take the season series against the RailRiders, with a Sunday afternoon first pitch set for 1:05 pm ET.