Strong Outing In Loss Pushes LaMarre Over .300

In Gwinnett’s (AAA-Atlanta) loss at home to the Charlotte Knights (AAA-White Sox) on Tuesday, Ryan LaMarre was a bright spot for the Stripers. He also pushed his season average to over .300.

LaMarre started in center field and batted 6th in the lineup.

In his first at-bat in the second inning with Adam Duvall on second and Pedro Florimon on first, LaMarre grounded into a fielder’s choice, with Duvall moving to third and LaMarre safe at first. The next hitter, Sean Kazmar would hit a sacrifice fly to score Duvall and give the Stripers an early 1-0 lead. LaMarre would then get thrown out trying to steal second for the third out during catcher Sal Giardina’s at-bat.

In the bottom of the fourth after back to back fly outs by Duvall and Florimon, LaMarre would rip a double to left. LaMarre would score following a single by the next batter in the lineup, Sean Kazmar to push the Gwinnett lead to 2-0.

Charlotte would add a run in the top of the fifth and two more in the bottom of the sixth to take a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, LaMarre would ground out to first. A scoreless 7th and top of the 8th set the stage for a strong Stripers inning.

Andres Blanco got things started with a double, and would score immediately following the next hitter in the lineup, Austin Riley and tie the game at 3. Riley would advance to second on the throw home. An Adam Duvall walk put runners at first and second with no outs. Pedro Florimon would then strike out for the first out. LaMarre would follow up with another single, scoring Riley to take a 4-3 lead, and moving Duvall to third.  A Sean Kazmar double play would end the threat.

A see-saw 9th would see Charlotte take a 5-4 lead in the top half before Gwinnett would recover to tie the game at 5.

(NOTE: In Minor League baseball, a runner begins the inning on second base to speed up pace of play)

A scoreless 10th inning for both teams, one in which LaMarre would strike out, set the stage for a wild 11th and final inning.

In the top of the 11th, Charlotte would score five runs to take a 10-5 lead. In the bottom of the 11th, Andres Blanco would single for the Stripers, scoring Raffy Lopez who began the inning on second. That would be it for Gwinnett, losing 10-6 in 11 innings.

The loss flip-flops the two teams in the standings. Charlotte (8-5) now regains a half game lead in the International League South over Gwinnett (7-5). The Stripers are a full game behind Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (AAA-Yankees) for the lone Wild Card spot.

On the season, Ryan LaMarre is now hitting .306 (11-for-36) with 3 runs scored, 3 doubles, a triple, a stolen base, and 8 RBI.