Nashville, TN – The Nashville Sounds secured the 6-3 win over the Charlotte Knights Wednesday night at Truist Field to even the series. A four-run seventh inning led the way to the victory as Eddys Leonard’s team-leading 11th homer highlighted the frame.
The Knights jumped ahead for the second straight night with a 1-0 lead off starter Tyson Hardin as White Sox Major League Rehabber Munetaka Murakami tallied his first career minor league RBI. An RBI-double by Murakami plated Rikuu Nishida, who led off the bottom of the first with a base hit.
In the top of the second inning, the Sounds answered back as Luke Adams led off the frame with a walk. Two at-bats later, Brock Wilken hit a single in to left field and put runners at the corners. After Darrien Miller walked to load the bases, Ethan Murray drew the third walk of the second and scored Adams for the 1-1 tie. Eduardo Garcia then tallied his third RBI of the season for the Sounds and gave Nashville its first lead of the series.
Hardin ended his night tossing consecutive 1-2-3 innings in the second and third before Reiss Knehr took over responsibilities in the bottom of the fourth. Knehr worked around a one-out walk and a one-out single to get out of the inning and retired the side in order in the bottom off the fifth, adding two strikeouts. Charlotte tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth as Nishida tallied another multi-hit game against the Sounds and Edgar Quero knocked in an RBI-single off Mark Manfredi.
Nashville took a four-run lead in the top of the seventh inning beginning with the 11th home run of the season for Leonard. The offense did not stop with its large threat, with Tyler Black hitting a base hit into right field and extending his on-base streak to 18 games. Three straight walks by Adams, Jeferson Quero and Wilken were issued by the Charlotte bullpen which loaded the bases and scored Black.
Miller and Murray got in on the action and lined back-to-back RBI-singles into center field as the lead grew 6-2. Kaleb Bowman relieved Manfredi in the bottom of the eighth inning and allowed an RBI-single off two hits and a 6-3 lead still in favor of the Sounds.
Junior Fernandez entered the game for Bowman in the ninth inning to close things out and worked around leadoff single. Fernandez struck out Riley Unroe to secure the first out. After Nishida grounded into a force out, Murakami grounded into the final out of the game as Nashville evened the series while Fernandez earned his third save of the season for the Sounds.
The Nashville Sounds continue the six-game series against the Charlotte Knights on Thursday, July 9th. First pitch is scheduled for 6:04pm and RHP Lyon Richardson will get the start for Nashville.
