Stripers’ Bats Boom to Beat Bulls 6-5 in Game One

LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia – DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Brewer Hicklen both homered late to give the Gwinnett Stripers (25-15) a 6-5 win over the Durham Bulls (15-25) on Tuesday night at Gwinnett Field. The Stripers have now won four straight series openers.

Decisive Plays: The Stripers were held scoreless by rehabbing Joe Boyle through three innings as the Bulls took a 2-0 lead on a pair of unearned runs. A leadoff walk by Ben Gamel helped to spark a four-run sixth where the Stripers laced five straight singles off Andrew Wantz to take a 4-2 lead. Immediately after in the top of the seventh, Durham knotted things up at 4-4 against Hunter Stratton (BS, 2). In the home half of the seventh, a solo homer by Keirsey Jr (4) immediately untied the game, giving Gwinnett a 5-4 lead. Another solo shot by Hicklen (7) stretched the advantage to 6-4 in the eighth. Joel Payamps (S,1) surrendered a run but finished off his first save as a Striper on a successful ABS challenge by Jair Camargo.

Key Contributors: Anthony Molina held the Bulls to two runs (both unearned) on seven hits over 4.1 innings, striking out four. Hicklen (2-for-4, single, homer, 3 RBIs) drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth before adding insurance with his eighth inning home run. Keirsey Jr. (2-for-4, homer, RBI) also had a multi-hit game for Gwinnett. Homer Bush Jr. drove in two runs for Durham in the series opener.

Noteworthy: The victory was Gwinnett’s 10^th in come-from-behind fashion this year. Through nine games in May, Hicklen is batting .406 with four homers, 10 RBIs, three steals, and a 1.319 OPS. Keirsey Jr. has homered three times in his last seven games dating back to May 3.

Next Game (Wednesday, May 13): Gwinnett Stripers vs Durham Bulls, 11:05 a.m. ET at Gwinnett Field. Radio Broadcast: 10:50 a.m. on MyCountry993.com. Live Video Stream: Bally Sports Live.