Stripers Get Three Runs in Eighth to Clip Charlotte 5-3

LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia – The Gwinnett Stripers (31-31, 69-67) fell behind 3-0 but steadily chipped away before a three-run eighth inning sealed an exciting 5-3 win over the Charlotte Knights (32-30, 74-63) on Saturday night at Gwinnett Field. Charlotte leads the series 3-2.

Decisive Plays: The Knights took a 3-0 lead in the third inning on a Riley Unroe two-run triple and a Ryan Galanie RBI double. The Stripers got a run on the board in the bottom of the third on a Jim Jarvis RBI single. Gwinnett trimmed the deficit to 3-2 in the sixth when a run came in on a fielder's choice off the bat of Rowdy Tellez. In the bottom of the eighth, Gwinnett tied things up when Tellez roped an RBI double into the right field corner. Two more runs came across on wild pitches by Charlotte's Shane Smith (L, 2-2), and the Stripers took a 5-3 lead into the ninth. Joel Payamps (S, 3) earned his second save of the series to secure the victory after two scoreless relief innings from Bailey Falter (W, 4-1).

Key Contributors: Jarvis (2-for-2, 2 runs, RBI) and Tellez (1-for-4, 2 RBIs) had all three Gwinnett RBIs. Starter Cedric De Grandpre notched his first Triple-A quality start (6.0 innings, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 8 SO) in a no-decision. For Charlotte, Unroe (1-for-4, 2 RBIs) drove in two of the three runs.

Noteworthy: De Grandpre tossed the third quality start by Stripers starting pitching this week and notched a Triple-A career-high in strikeouts. Falter extended his scoreless streak to 10.2 innings since joining the Stripers.

Next Game (Sunday, September 6): Gwinnett Stripers vs. Charlotte Knights, 1:05 p.m. ET at Gwinnett Field. It’s Xolos De Gwinnett Weekend presented By Pedro Furtivo Tequila. It's also Sunday Funday presented by COUNTRY Financial with Pregame Catch on the Field and Postgame Kids Run the Bases. Radio Broadcast: 12:50 p.m on MyCountry993.com. Live Video Stream: Bally Sports Live.