Charlotte’s power surge sinks Jacksonville, 9-4 after early deficit

Charlotte turned one sloppy inning into a night-long problem and handed Jacksonville a 9-4 loss Sunday afternoon at VyStar Ballpark, quieting a 5,531-fan crowd as the Jumbo Shrimp wrapped up their second homestand of the season.

The Knights jumped on Ryan Gusto for four runs in the top of the first, starting with back-to-back walks before Jarred Kelenic doubled in the opening run. Oliver Dunn and Jacob Gonzalez followed with fielder’s-choice RBI, and Michael Turner capped the inning with an RBI double that put Jacksonville in an immediate 4-0 hole. Gusto took the loss and fell to 1-2, and the early damage forced the home club to spend the rest of the afternoon trying to climb back.

Jacksonville did show life right away. Joe Mack led off the bottom of the first with his third home run of the season, and the Shrimp kept pressing in the second when Bennett Hostetler and Cody Morissette delivered back-to-back run-scoring doubles to trim the deficit to 4-3. For a brief stretch, the game looked like it could become another Jacksonville comeback against Charlotte.

That window slammed shut in the third. Drew Romo answered with a two-run homer to push the Knights back in front by three, and Charlotte never gave the lead back. Tyler Schweitzer steadied the game out of the bullpen, earning the win with 2.2 innings of relief, while Jacksonville’s pitching could not keep the margin close enough for a full turnaround.

The Knights added more separation in the seventh when Gonzalez launched another two-run blast, then tacked on one more in the ninth on Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly. Jacksonville scratched out a run in its final turn when Andrew Pintar doubled and scored on Morissette’s RBI single, but by then the outcome was settled.

The loss was especially striking because Jacksonville had won the first four games of the series, including a 3-0 opener on April 14, a 3-2 victory on Jackie Robinson Day, a 5-3 win on April 16 and a 4-1 win on April 17. That run had ended Saturday with a 2-0 defeat, and Sunday’s result showed the same fault line: competitive swings at the plate, but too many early pitching lapses to complete the comeback. For the defending 2025 International League and Triple-A National champions, it was a reminder that even in a strong start at 11-9, one inning can still tilt an entire homestand.

Jacksonville now heads to a six-game road series against the Gwinnett Stripers, with first pitch set for Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. and pregame coverage beginning at 5:50 p.m. on ESPN 690.