Knights Rout Sounds 9-3 Behind Schultz, Nine-Hit Offensive Attack

William Bergolla Jr. went 3-for-the-night, LaMonte Wade Jr. came through twice in the clutch, and Noah Schultz looked every bit like a frontline arm in his first start of the season as the Charlotte Knights rolled past the Nashville Sounds, 9-3, Tuesday at First Horizon Park.

Schultz set the tone early. The left-hander worked five innings of two-hit baseball, limiting Nashville traffic and generating enough swings-and-misses to keep Charlotte's offense from needing a short bullpen. It was a significant step up from his Opening Day relief outing, which itself had earned Schultz his first Triple-A win. Moving into the rotation and delivering a clean five-inning start in hostile territory suggested the lefty's transition is ahead of schedule.

Charlotte's offense wasted no time rewarding the performance. Drew Romo's RBI groundout in the second inning opened the scoring, and the Knights followed with a pair of runs in each of the third and fourth frames. Oliver Dunn, Wade Jr., and Bergolla Jr. all delivered RBI hits during that stretch, pushing the lead to 5-1 through four innings. Eight of Charlotte's nine starters recorded at least one hit, and the team drew nine walks, a level of plate discipline that manufactured opportunities even when the big swings weren't necessary.

Nashville threatened in the seventh, chipping away to cut the deficit to two runs and briefly tightening the atmosphere. Charlotte answered decisively. In the top of the ninth, the Knights plated four runs to put the game beyond reach. Dustin Harris delivered an RBI single, and Wade Jr. capped the surge with a bases-loaded walk, pushing the final margin to 9-3.

The late bullpen work was equally decisive. Wikelman Gonzalez, Adisyn Coffey, and Zach Franklin combined to cover the final four innings without allowing Nashville to complete its comeback. Sam Antonacci and Darren Baker also contributed multiple-hit efforts, rounding out what amounted to a lineup-wide performance rather than a one-man show.

Bergolla Jr.'s three-hit night headlined a balanced attack that reinforced what Charlotte's early-season results have been signaling: this is a club built to score runs through depth rather than dependence on a single power source. With Schultz developing as a starter and the relief corps already showing late-game reliability, the Knights enter the first full week of the 2026 season looking like a team that will be difficult to put away.