Round Rock Battles for 8-6 Win Over Charlotte 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Knights kicked off the bottom of the first with back-to-back home runs from LF Brooks Baldwin and SS Colson Montgomery for a 2-0 advantage.

In the top of the third, Express CF Alejandro Osuna drew a leadoff walk then RF Marcus Smith sent a two-run homer into left field and the game was tied 2-2.

Baldwin and Montgomery opened the third with a pair of hits for Charlotte. With runners on second and third, DH Tim Elko grounded out but Baldwin came home to give the Knights another lead.

As the Express trailed 3-2, Osuna doubled to start the fifth and moved to third when Smith reached on a fielding error. SS Cody Freeman worked a full count and recorded a sacrifice fly to tie it again. With Smith on third and Wallach at the plate, Charlotte RHP Mike Clevinger threw a wild pitch and Smith came home for a 4-3 Round Rock advantage.

The E-Train added some insurance in the top of the seventh. Smith tallied an RBI double and Freeman drove him in with a single. Two pitches later, DH Chad Wallach belted his third home run of the year and Round Rock led 8-3.

Charlotte cut into the deficit with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. With two runners aboard, RF Zack DeLoach recorded an RBI single that scored CF Dominic Fletcher. Later, Baldwin grounded out but the Knights scratched another run across and the Round Rock lead was 8-5.

Trailing by three in the ninth, the Knights battled back as Montgomery launched his second homer of the night. But, it was Express RHP Luis Curvelo to replace RHP Florencio Serrano and record the final out of the night, giving Round Rock an 8-6 win.

E-TRAIN EXCERPTS:

CHAD’S ON FIRE: Round Rock DH Chad Wallach went 2-for-3 with a double and a two-run homer in Saturday’s win. His hitting streak is now at seven consecutive games with four multi-hit games in that span. Wallach is batting .379 (11-29) during the streak with a 1.007 OPS. His .121 (4-33) season average entering the month is now up to .226 (21-93).

HE DID THE MARCUS MASH: RF Marcus Smith went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, three RBIs and three runs on Saturday. In this series, he is batting .474 (9-19) with six RBIs and a hit in all five games.

CAN’T TOUCH CURVELO: RHP Luis Curvelo came in to record the final out and earn a save for the Express. Curvelo now has nine consecutive appearances without allowing a run. He owns a team-best 2.00 ERA (4 ER/18.0 IP).

NEXT GAME: Sunday, May 24 at Charlotte FIRST PITCH: 5:05 p.m. CT BALLPARK: Truist Field