Knights survive Gwinnett in 10 innings on game-ending double play
Charlotte turned a one-run lead into a survival test, then ended Gwinnett’s threat with a force at the plate and throw to first in the 10th.
Charlotte survived the kind of late-game squeeze that can define a Triple-A night, escaping Gwinnett Field with a 4-3, 10-inning win on May 22 after Korey Lee finished a game-ending double play in a bases-loaded jam. Junior Perez drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th, and the Knights made that one run stand up in front of 1,515 fans in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
The finish came after Charlotte had already spent most of the night trading punches. Perez had earlier broken a 1-1 tie with an RBI double to deep right-center, then Charlotte added an insurance run in the eighth. Gwinnett answered with a two-run bloop single to force extras, turning a tightly played series game into a bullpen test and leaving both clubs tied after nine innings.
In the 10th, Charlotte got its automatic runner home without the benefit of a hit. Perez’s sacrifice fly put the Knights in front, and then the defense had to close it. Gwinnett loaded the bases in the bottom half before manager Chad Pinder intentionally walked a hitter to set up the matchup. Chris Murphy then induced a soft tapper in front of the plate, Lee stepped on home for one out and threw to first for the second, sealing the victory and improving to 2-2 as the winning pitcher. Patrick Guerra took the loss and fell to 0-1.
Charlotte’s pitching stack helped hold the line all night. Joe Rock made his Knights debut and worked two scoreless innings, then Shane Murphy gave Charlotte five innings and allowed only one run. Mario Camilletti led the offense with a 2-for-4 night, while Charlotte finished with six hits and one error, the same total Gwinnett posted. Connor Thomas made his season debut for the Stripers and opened the game with four scoreless innings, a strong start that still could not keep Gwinnett from falling to 4-2 in extra-inning games and 8-12 in one-run games.
The result pushed Charlotte ahead 3-1 in the six-game set and guaranteed at worst a split with two games still to play. With the game lasting 2:53, starting at 7:18 p.m. ET in 70-degree, partly cloudy weather and a 9 mph wind blowing in from center field, Charlotte got exactly the kind of late-inning survival that matters most for roster-watch eyes: a bullpen escape, a calm defensive finish, and a win built on execution under pressure.
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