By Dave Lezotte
(@davelezotte)
Thanks to the power of Luke Williams and Eli White, the Gwinnett Stripers (26-28) cruised to a 7-2 win over the Norfolk Tides (28-26) on Thursday afternoon at Harbor Park. Williams blasted a three-run home run in the third and White launched a two-run homer in the seventh. Gwinnett earned its third straight win despite tying a club single-game record with 11 walks allowed.
Decisive Plays: Luke Waddell opened the scoring with an RBI double in the second inning, giving Gwinnett a 1-0 lead against former Stripers and Atlanta Braves pitcher Tucker Davidson (L, 1-1). Williams followed with a three-run homer (4) to left field in the third, raising the advantage to 4-0. The Tides scored twice off Allan Winans in the fifth to trim the margin to 4-2, but an RBI single by Skye Bolt in the sixth and White’s two-run clout (1) to dead center in the seventh put the game out of reach at 7-2.
Key Contributors: Waddell (2-for-3, double, RBI) had his second-straight multi-hit game, while Williams (2-for-4, double, homer, 3 RBIs) homered for the first time since April 16 vs. Memphis. White (1-for-5, homer, 2 RBIs) also had a multi-RBI effort. Following 4.2 innings from Winans (ND, 1 H, 2 ER, 7 BB, 6 SO), Taylor Widener (W, 3-2) pitched 3.1 scoreless, one-hit frames and struck out three.
Noteworthy: Winans’ career-high seven walks tied the most by a Gwinnett pitcher in a single game (fifth instance all-time, first since Bryce Elder on May 25, 2024 vs. Jacksonville). Gwinnett’s 11 walks tied a club single-game record, marking the eighth time it’s happened in 15 seasons. Yuli Gurriel drew a walk late in the contest to extend his on-base streak to 18 games. The home runs by Williams and White were the Stripers’ first two off Norfolk pitching in nine games this season.
Next Game (Friday, May 31): Gwinnett at Norfolk, 6:35 p.m. ET at Harbor Park. Broadcast: 6:20 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com. RHP Darius Vines (0-1, 4.58 ERA) starts for the Stripers opposite LHP Cade Povich (5-1, 2.35 ERA) for the Tides.
Next Home Game (Tuesday, June 11): Gwinnett vs. Nashville, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live. It will be another Coolray T-Shirt Tuesday at Coolray Field, as the first 500 fans can collect a "Xolos de Gwinnett" Shirsey featuring reigning National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr.
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