Bullpen Fires Seven Scoreless in 7-5 Knights Victory

TOLEDO, OH – The Charlotte Knights won their third straight game over the Toledo Mud Hens with a 7-5 victory on Friday night. Charlotte’s bullpen held Toledo’s offense scoreless over the contest’s final seven innings while Tim Elko paced the Knights offense with three extra-base hits. The three-game win streak gives the Knights a 3-1 record to begin the second half of the season.

Colson Montgomery and Elko each doubled in the top of the first inning which resulted in an early 1-0 lead for the visitors. The Mud Hens countered with three runs in the bottom of the first, but the Knights quickly responded. Brooks Baldwin hit a sacrifice fly and Montgomery added an RBI single that knotted the score 3-3 in the second.

Toledo jumped out to a 5-3 lead with two more runs in the home half of the second inning; however, it was the home team’s last run-scoring rally of the night. Chase Plymell, Tyler Schweitzer, Bryse Wilson, and Caleb Freeman combined to pitch the final seven innings and kept the Mud Hens from pushing any more runs across.

The shutdown pitching performance gave Charlotte’s offense the opportunity it needed to erase the deficit and build a late lead. Elko doubled and scored on a throwing error in the fourth, then hit a two-run Home Run in the fifth. Baldwin added an RBI single in the sixth and the two-run advantage held up the rest of the way.

Charlotte showcased their aggressiveness on the basepaths. The Knights stole a season-high five bases, including two thefts by Tristan Gray. Both teams are back in action Saturday at 7:05pm ET.