The Rochester Red Wings fell to the Charlotte Knights 7-2 Thursday afternoon at ESL Ballpark.
Charlotte scored in the first inning, added three runs in the fourth and broke the game open with three more in the fifth.
Charlotte took a 1-0 lead in the opening inning when Rikuu Nishida reached on a bunt single, moved into scoring position on a stolen base and a throwing error, then scored on Tim Elko's RBI single.
Rochester answered in the second. Trey Lipscomb singled, moved to second on a groundout and scored on Sam Petersen's RBI single to center, tying the game at 1-1.
Charlotte pulls away with six unanswered runs
The game turned in the fourth. Elko and Michael Turner opened the inning with consecutive singles before Joey Wiemer lined an RBI double to right to put Charlotte ahead. Mario Camilletti followed with an RBI groundout and Caden Connor added a sacrifice fly, giving the Knights a 4-1 lead.
Charlotte widened the margin an inning later. Jason Matthews and Nishida drew walks ahead of Elko, who launched a three-run homer to center field for a 7-1 advantage. The homer capped a four-RBI afternoon for Elko, who finished 3-for-5.
The Red Wings threatened little against Charlotte starter Shane Smith, who allowed one run on three hits over six innings while striking out five. Rochester managed just five hits and struck out nine times.
Riley Adams provided the only late offense, leading off the ninth inning with his 12th home run of the season, a solo shot to center that accounted for the final margin.
Petersen went 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Lipscomb, Adams, Cayden Wallace and Seaver King each collected a hit for Rochester. Adams also homered and Wallace doubled.
Carson Palmquist allowed one run over two innings in his start before Connor Van Scoyoc (0-1) took the loss after surrendering six runs on five hits in 2⅔ innings. Riley Cornelio, Matt Krook and Jack Sinclair combined to hold Charlotte scoreless over the final 4⅓ innings.
Rochester continues the series Friday at 6:45 p.m., with Chandler Champlain expected to start against Charlotte left-hander Noah Schultz.
Information gathered from milb.com.
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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Red Wings can't overcome Elko's four-RBI afternoon