Luis Liberato tied the game with a clutch two-out, two-run single in the top of the ninth inning and Drake Baldwin’s grand slam highlighted a five-run 10th as the Gwinnett Stripers (26-22) battled back to beat the Louisville Bats (19-28) 7-2 on Thursday night at Louisville Slugger Field.
Decisive Plays: Ian Anderson and the Stripers fell behind 2-0 in the second inning on an RBI double by Tony Kemp and an RBI single by Erik Gonzalez. That 2-0 score held up until the top of the ninth, when Bats’ closer Zach Maxwell (BS, 5) walked the bases loaded and allowed Liberato’s two-run single to center on a 2-2 pitch with two outs. Zach Logue (W, 5-6) pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to send the game to extras. In the top of the 10th, Gwinnett again loaded the bases on two walks from Brooks Crawford (L, 0-1), who then walked Nacho Alvarez Jr. to give the Stripers a 3-2 lead. Baldwin followed with a 436-foot grand slam (9) to right-center, putting the game out of reach at 7-2.
Key Contributors: Baldwin (2-for-4, homer, 4 RBIs) and Liberato (1-for-5, 2 RBIs) each had multi-RBI efforts to lead the way for Gwinnett. Anderson was sharp in a no-decision (5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO). Logue followed with 3.1 scoreless innings (1 H, 2 BB, 5 SO), and Daysbel Hernandez pitched a perfect ninth. Louisville starter Rhett Lowder, making his Triple-A debut, pitched 6.0 scoreless innings (3 H, 0 BB, 7 SO).
Noteworthy: The Stripers’ 33rd come-from-behind win of the season improved their extra-inning record to 6-3. Baldwin’s grand slam was the first of his Triple-A career and the fifth hit by a Gwinnett player this season. Anderson is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and .194 BAA over his last three starts.
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