Charlotte Takes Down Memphis 6-5 to Win the Series

CHARLOTTE, NC- The Charlotte Knights finished off a winning homestand Sunday afternoon with a 6-5 victory over the Memphis Redbirds. The Knights took the series over the Redbirds four games to two and won seven of their 12 contests at Truist Field over the last two weeks.

The ballpark was filled with fans celebrating Mother’s Day and the Knights donned special pink jerseys to commemorate the occasion. Charlotte fell behind 3-0 but rallied to score six unanswered runs against the Memphis pitching staff.

The first Knights runs came in the bottom of the fourth inning on a Jason Matthews RBI single. Charlotte tacked on three more runs with a major rally in the following frame. Andre Lipcius and Kyle Teel delivered back-to-back RBI singles that tied the game and a wild pitch later in the inning gave the Knights their first lead at 4-3.

Charlotte added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh. This time, Lipcius and Teel were the players who crossed home plate. Lipcius scored from third on a Redbirds balk while Teel raced home on another wild pitch.

Memphis inched their way back with an eighth inning run and a ninth inning solo Homer; however, Keone Kela slammed the door shut for Charlotte and earned his first save of the season. Kela was joined by Chase Plymell and Penn Murfee out of the Knights bullpen behind starter Tyler Schweitzer. The Knights lefty pitched a season-high five innings and limited the Redbirds to only three hits.

Following Monday’s day off, the Knights will open up a six-game road series against the Gwinnett Stripers. Tuesday’s road game in Gwinnett will be a morning contest that begins at 11:05am ET.