RAILRDIERS CLINCH SERIES BERTH

SWB Clinches Governors’ Cup Championship Series Berth

RailRiders Complete Franchise’s First Postseason Sweep

 

Moosic, Pa. – The 2016 SWB RailRiders (Triple-A/ New York Yankees) continued rewriting the club’s record book on Friday night at PNC Field as they rolled to an 11-3 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia Phillies). The team became the first in franchise history to sweep a postseason series as they finished off the International League Division Series with a three-game brooming of the IronPigs.

The victory also secured the franchise’s sixth appearance in the Governors’ Cup Championship Series. The RailRiders never trailed in the Division Series and outscored the IronPigs 20-3 overall.  

Giovanny Gallegos (1-0) took home the win in relief. He held the IronPigs without a run or hit over three innings while striking out five. Gallegos inherited three runners with no one out, but retired all three batters to strand the runners. Lehigh Valley’s starter Phil Klein (0-1) was hit for 10 runs, eight earned, on seven hits in just 3.1 innings.

 

SWB jumped out of the gate with three runs in the first. Mason Williams and Donovan Solano scored on a pair of wild pitches by Klein and Cesar Puello scored Clint Frazier on a grounder to second.

 

The RailRiders blew the game open with an eight-run fourth. Kyle Higashioka and Solano both plated a run with ground-rule doubles, but the highlight of the rally was a three-run blast out to left by Cito Culver. Chris Parmelee and Jake Cave also tallied run-producing hits. The inning tied the franchise record for most runs scored in a single inning of a postseason game.

 

SWB will host the first two games of the Governors’ Cup Championship Series beginning Tuesday, September 13 at 6:35 p.m. Game two on Wednesday, Sept. 14 is also set for 6:35 p.m. The RailRiders will face the winner of the Columbus Clippers (Cleveland Indians) and Gwinnett Braves (Atlanta Braves) Division Series. Come cheer on your RailRiders as they seek the club’s second Governors’ Cup! Purchase playoff tickets by calling 570-969-BALL (2255) or online at swbrailriders.com!

 

OFF THE RAILS:

 

Mason Williams finished 7-for-12 (.583) with a home run, three runs scored and three RBI.

 

Donovan Solano went 6-for-14 (.429), including three doubles, three RBI and three runs scored.

 

Starter Brady Lail allowed a run on five hits across four innings. He walked one and struck out four on 80 pitches.

 

Kyle Higashioka finished 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. His three hits fell one shy of the franchise record for hits in a postseason game.

 

All nine starters for the RailRiders scored at least one run and six batters recorded at least two hits.

 

The RailRiders finished 13-for-38 (.342) with men in scoring position for the series. The IronPigs were 3-for-25 (.120) in runners in prime real estate for the series.