ROCHESTER, NY – The Charlotte Knights suffered a similar fate on Saturday night to what transpired just 24 hours ago. For the second straight game Charlotte took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning, and for the second straight game they found themselves trailing heading into the eighth. The Rochester Red Wings scored four runs in the seventh and bested Charlotte by a final score of 5-2.
The Knights’ starting pitcher, David Sandlin, certainly did his part with five shutout innings and six strikeouts. Charlotte’s offense mustered a pair of runs with Sandlin on the bump and led 2-0 when the right-hander departed.
Rikuu Nishida and Ryan Galanie both picked up first inning singles as the Knights jumped out to a strong start. Joey Wiemer plated Nishida with an RBI groundout for the game’s opening run. Nishida also added an RBI single that scored Dru Baker in the second inning.
Rochester used a solo Home Run by Trey Lipsomb in the sixth inning to ignite their offense. In the seventh, the Red Wings loaded the bases with one out on a single and a pair of walks. The ensuing batter, Yohandy Morales, hit a groundball that had the potential to be an inning-ending double-play.
Morales hustled up the line and was called safe for an RBI fielder’s choice that knotted the game 2-2. The next batter, Lipscomb, jumped on the first pitch and hit a go-ahead three-run Home Run.
Charlotte was unable to mount a rally against Rochester’s bullpen and now will attempt to salvage a series split with Sunday’s finale set for 1:05pm ET.