SCRANTON ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE

RAILRIDERS

GAME REPORT

 

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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre    7    Lehigh Valley  2

10 Innings

 

ALLENTOWN, PA (September 8, 2018) – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders topped the Lehigh Valley IronPigs 7-2 in 10 innings to advance to the International League Governor’s Cup Championship Series.  A grand slam by Bruce Caldwell in the top of the tenth pushed the RailRiders ahead to clinch their semifinal series against Lehigh Valley, the IL North Champion, three wins to one loss.

 

The RailRiders took a 1-0 lead in the third against Ranger Suarez.  The right-hander allowed a leadoff single to Francisco Diaz and hit Mark Payton with a pitch.  A wild pitch advanced both into scoring position and a Giovanny Urshela groundout plated Diaz for a 1-0 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre edge.

 

Mike King made the lead stick over the first four innings.  After allowing back-to-back base hits in the first, the right-hander retired 12 straight, including five consecutive batters on strikeouts between the fourth and fifth.  Lehigh Valley, however, tied the game on an error and two singles in the bottom of the fifth.

 

In the sixth, Danny Ortiz lined an 0-1 pitch from King over the high wall in right to give the IronPigs a 2-1 lead.

 

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre tied the game in the top of the ninth with two outs, Shane Robinson reached on an infield single and Quintin Berry scored from second to even the score at two and pin a blown save on Pedro Beato.

 

The RailRiders loaded the bases in the top of the tenth.  Payton scored on an infield groundout by Ryan McBroom to give Scranton/Wilkes-Barre a 3-2 advantage.  With two down and the bases loaded again, Caldwell lined a 1-0 pitch from Tom Windle over the right field wall to seal the deal.

 

Raynel Espinal (1-0) worked 2.1 innings for the win while Ranfi Casimiro (1-1) was charged with four of the five runs in the tenth in the loss.

 

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre moves on to face the Durham Bulls in the International League Governor’s Cup finals, which are slated to begin on Tuesday, September 11, at PNC Field.  Tickets are on sale now at swbrailriders.com.

 

IL Governor’s Cup Semifinals

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre wins series 3-1

 

IRONPIGS GET WIN AT HOME

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE

RAILRIDERS

GAME REPORT

 

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Lehigh Valley  3     Scranton/Wilkes-Barre    2

13 Innings

 

ALLENTOWN, PA (September 7, 2018) – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders fell 3-2 to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in 13 innings in Game Three of the International League Governor’s Cup semifinals at Coca-Cola Park Friday night.  The IronPigs staved off elimination with a walk-off win to stay alive with their first win in the best-of-five series.

 

The RailRiders had at least one hit in each of the first four innings off IronPigs starter Drew Anderson and left five men on the bases.  Scranton/Wilkes-Barre starting pitcher Ryan Bollinger worked three perfect innings before walking Dean Anna and allowing a single to Collin Cowgill to begin the fourth.  The left-hander induced a flyout and an inning-ending double play to close the inning scoreless.

 

Rey Navarro hit the first pitch in the top of the fifth inning over the high wall in right for a 1-0 RailRiders lead.  Scranton/Wilkes-Barre extended the advantage on an RBI double by Navarro the very next inning.  The infielder’s two-base hit plated Mike Ford from second for a 2-0 edge.  Bruce Caldwell attempted to score from first but was thrown out at the plate.

 

Lehigh Valley tied the game in the bottom of the sixth.  Bollinger walked Zach Green, but was lifted after with two outs after 87 pitches.  George Kontos took over and allowed a home run to Collin Cowgill to even the game at two.

 

The RailRiders final nine batters of regulation play were set down in order.  The IronPigs, however, left two men on in the eighth and two more in the ninth.

 

Each team had opportunities in the tenth, 11^th and 12^th, but neither club could seal the win. 

 

In the bottom of the 13^th, Danny Ortiz doubled to start the inning against Brady Lail.  After an intentional walked of Joey Meneses, Ryan Goins placed a sacrifice bunt to advance the winning run to third.  Nick Rickles soft single to right brought home Oritz to keep the IronPigs hopes alive.

 

Brady Lail (0-1) took the loss while Randi Casimiro (1-0) was the benefactor.  Scranton/Wilkes-Barre amasses 15 hits, including a game-high four by Rey Navarro.

 

Game four is set for 6:35 p.m. on Saturday night at Coca-Cola Park.  RH Mike King will start for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against Lehigh Valley LH Ranger Suarez with a first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.  For more information or to listen live, visit www.swbrailriders.com.

 

IL Governor’s Cup Semifinals

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre leads series 2-1

 

SCRANTON TAKES 2 GAME LEAD

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE

RAILRIDERS

GAME REPORT

 

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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre    3     Lehigh Valley  0

 

MOOSIC, PA (September 6, 2018) – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders blanked the Lehigh Valley IronPigs 3-0 on one hit in Game Two of the International League Governor’s Cup semifinals at PNC Field on Thursday evening.  Nestor Cortes pitched seven and a third no-hit innings as the RailRiders took a 2-0 lead in this best-of-five set.

 

Cortes was stellar over eight innings.  After walking Mitch Walding with two down in the first, Cortes retired the next 20 consecutive batters.  The southpaw stuck out seven and did not allow a hit until the top of the eighth inning.

 

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre backed Cortes with a run on a groundout in the bottom of the fourth.  Mark Payton led off the inning with a triple and scored on a Giovanny Urshela groundout.

 

Wilkin Castillo hit a solo home run off of Cole Irvin, the International League Pitcher-of-the-Year, in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead to 2-0. 

 

In the eighth, Payton singled off Pedro Beato, took second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on another wild pitch for a 3-0 advantage.

 

Cortes (1-0) earned the win while Irvin (0-1) took the loss after allowing two runs on six hits over seven innings.  Chance Adams pitched a perfect ninth with a pair of strikeouts for the save.

 

Payton paced the RailRiders with three hits over four at-bats and is batting .500 in the series with three runs scored.

 

This semifinal round shifts to Allentown on Friday for game three.  Scranton/Wilkes-Barre will start LHP Ryan Bollinger against Lehigh Valley’s RHP Drew Anderson with a first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.  For more information or to listen live, visit www.swbrailriders.com.

 

IL Governor’s Cup Semifinals

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre leads series 2-0

RAILRIDERS EDGE LEHIGH VALLEY 3-2

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE

RAILRIDERS

GAME REPORT

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre    3     Lehigh Valley  2

 

MOOSIC, PA (September 5, 2018) – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders walked-off with a 3-2 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in game one of the International League Governor’s Cup semifinals at PNC Field on Wednesday night.  Mark Payton broke a two-all deadlock with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the RailRiders a 1-0 series lead.

 

The RailRiders opened the scoring in the bottom of the third with a run against IronPigs starter Enyel de los Santos.  With runners on the corners and one out, Mark Payton hit a ground ball to short.  Dean Anna could not turn a double play and Payton reached on a fielder’s choice, allowing L.J. Mazzilli to score for a 1-0 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre advantage.

 

Erik Swanson made the start for the RailRiders, working three innings of scoreless ball.  The IronPigs loaded the bases against the right-hander in the second, but Swanson struck out a pair to end the inning.  After a three-batter third, Brady Lail relieved Swanson and pitched two perfect frames of his own.

 

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre added a run on two hits and an error in the bottom of the fifth for a 2-0 lead, but Lehigh Valley evened the score against Justus Sheffield in the top of the sixth.  The IronPigs scored twice on four hits and an error in the inning with Andrew Knapp and Trevor Plouffe driving in runs.

 

Lehigh Valley left the go-ahead runner on in the seventh, eighth and ninth.  Scranton/Wilkes-Barre left runners on in the sixth, one in the seventh and loaded the bases with one out in the eighth to no avail.

 

With two down in the ninth, Payton hit a 1-1 pitch from Tyler Gilbert to the Budweiser RailHouse in right for the win.

 

Joe Harvey (1-0) notched the win with a scoreless ninth, while Gilbert (0-1) suffered the loss. 

 

Giovanny Urshela led Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with three hits while Francisco Diaz had two hits and a run scored.  Joey Meneses and Plouffe had two hits apiece to pace the IronPigs.

Game two of this semifinal series is slated for Thursday evening at 6:35 p.m.  LHP Nestor Cortes get the call for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against LHP Cole Irvin and Lehigh Valley.  For tickets or more information, visit www.swbrailriders.com.

 

IL Governor’s Cup Semifinals

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre leads series 1-0

 

URENA PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Urena Named League Player of the Week

BINGHAMTON, NY – Binghamton Rumble Ponies outfielder Jhoan Urena has been named the Eastern League Player of the Week. From August 27 through September 3, the Ponies right fielder hit .424 (14-for-33), with four home runs, 14 RBI and a .818 slugging percentage.

Urena’s crowning achievement during the week came on August 27 in Hartford against the Yard Goats when he belted three home runs, including two grand slams. His nine RBI were the most in one game by a Binghamton player in franchise history.

Urena is the fourth Rumble Pony to take home a weekly league honor this season, joining Peter Alonso, Jeff McNeil, and Nabil Crismatt.

The Rumble Ponies concluded their season on Monday against the Sea Dogs. Binghamton opens the 2019 season on Thursday, April 4 in New Hampshire. Fans are encouraged to follow the Rumble Ponies during the offseason at BINGRP.com.

PONIES BEST ATTENDANCE IN 25 YEARS

Rumble Ponies Enjoy Best Attendance in 25 Years

BINGHAMTON, NY – Over the course of the 2018 season, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies welcomed an average of 3,553 fans per opening, the franchise’s best rate since the inaugural season of 1992. Binghamton’s banner year featured three games ranked in their all-time top 20 best attended, including a franchise-record 7,488 at their game against the Trenton Thunder on July 20.

In total, 220,279 fans streamed through the NYSEG Stadium turnstiles through 62 openings. It marked just the eighth time in franchise history the club has welcomed in more than 220,000 fans.

The Rumble Ponies concluded their season on Monday against the Sea Dogs. Binghamton opens the 2019 season on Thursday, April 4 in New Hampshire. Fans are encouraged to follow the Rumble Ponies during the offseason at BINGRP.com.

SCRANTON WINS OVER PAWTUCKET 5-1 P[OSTSEASON WED.

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE

RAILRIDERS

GAME REPORT

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre    5     Pawtucket    1

 

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (September 3, 2018) – On the back of two home runs and six strong innings from Michael King, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders finished the regular season with a 5-1 win Monday afternoon against the Pawtucket Red Sox

The PawSox took a 1-0 lead in the home half of the first.  Pawtucket loaded the bases on two hits and a fielder’s choice.  Anuery Taverez scored on a fielder’s choice and an error for the early tally.  After the first, RailRiders starter Mike King settled in, walking a batter in the second before retiring the next 11 consecutive batters.

 

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre evened the score in the top of the fourth with two down.  Wilkin Castillo hit a 0-1 pitch over the right field wall to tie the game at one.  It was Castillo’s second home run of the season and his first in 78 at-bats since July 5. The RailRiders added more offense in the 6^th and 7^th innings to grow their lead to 3-1 entering the 9^th inning.

In the top of the 9^th inning, Matthew Gorst retired the first two men before allowing a single to Mark Payton. That set the stage for L.J. Mazzilli who clubbed his seventh homer of the season and made it a 5-1 lead entering the final half inning for RHP Brady Lail.

RailRiders pitching was outstanding all afternoon long, holding Pawtucket to just two hits after the first inning. Chance Adams, David Sosebee and Brady Lail came out of the bullpen to toss three innings of scoreless, one-hit ball to seal the victory. King was excellent again in his start, collecting his fourth win of the season in five starts with SWB, ending the regular season with a 1.15 ERA.

 

The 2018 regular season has concluded and the 2018 International League postseason begins Wednesday night at PNC Field against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. First pitch Wednesday night is set for 6:35 p.m. with pregame coverage set for 6:05 p.m. For additional information on tickets and game times, please head to www.swbrailriders.com.

 

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Record:

73-65