LAWRENCEVILLE, GA – Runs were at a premium for both the Charlotte Knights and the Gwinnett Stripers on Tuesday. The Stripers held a 1-0 lead entering the ninth inning, until Kyle Teel ripped a solo Home Run over the right field wall that tied the game 1-1. The Knights used that momentum and bested the Stripers in ten innings by a final score of 3-1.
The top of the tenth inning rally began when Caden Connor was hit by a pitch. A wild pitch followed by a Riley Unroe RBI single put Charlotte on top 2-1. The next batter, Rikuu Nishida, added an insurance run with a perfectly executed safety squeeze bunt up the first base line.
Garrett Schoenle was masterful in the contest’s final two innings. The left-hander made sure Charlotte saw extras with a shutdown bottom of the ninth. Schoenle also held Gwinnett scoreless in the bottom of the tenth after the Knights had claimed their first lead of the ballgame.
Noah Schultz went 4.2 innings and his only blemish was an unearned tally that scored on a sacrifice fly. Jairo Iriarte, Chris Murphy, and Shane Smith kept the Knights within a run over the game’s next 3.1 frames.
Even though the offense had a slower game than Charlotte is used to, the Knights still found a way to extend their winning streak to four-in-a-row. The Knights also set a new high-water mark of the season, 11 games over .500, with an overall record of 72-61.
Game Two against the Stripers is scheduled for 6:35pm ET on Wednesday night from Gwinnett Field.