RailRiders Offense Struggles in 2-1 Setback

August 25, 2018 - International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders pitcher Erik Swanson
(Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Credit: Louriann Mardo-Zayat)

ALLENTOWN, PA - The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders fell 2-1 in walk-off fashion Saturday night at Coca-Cola Park to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

For the second straight night, the top two teams in the I.L. North battled before a sellout crowd of 10,100. The fans got something to cheer for entering the bottom of the 9th inning in 1-1 tie, George Kontos entered out of the bullpen- and retired the first two men he faced before consecutive singles and an intentional walk loaded the bases for J.P. Crawford who delivered the walk-off single.

With the win, Lehigh Valley punches its ticket to the postseason for a third straight season but clinches an I.L. North Division title for the first time in the 11-year history of the franchise.

The RailRiders jumped on the board first Saturday night with a run in the top of the 7th inning. After six scoreless innings from RailRiders RHP Erik Swanson, SWB gave its pitching staff some run support. The inning featured a pair of walks to Devyn Bolasky and Tyler Wade, and subsequently a passed ball and a wild pitch to plate Bolasky for the 1-0 lead.

Justus Sheffield made his second consecutive appearance out of the bullpen as a member of the RailRiders relief pitching corps. He was used in the 7th and 8th innings and allowed one run over his 2.0 innings of work in back of Swanson, allowing a game-tying solo home run to Danny Ortiz in the bottom of the 7th inning. Swanson went 6.0 innings and scattered three hits while striking out five and walking just two batters on 75 pitches.

The offense featured a 2-for-3 night with a walk from Zack Zehner as he extended his season to nine games. With another multi-hit game, he is batting .406 (13-for-32) in that stretch.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre continues its seven-game road trip Sunday afternoon against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. RHP Raynel Espinal (7-2, 3.36) gets the start for SWB and goes up against Lehigh Valley's RHP Cole Irvin (12-4, 2.71). First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m. with pregame coverage featuring Adam Marco and Adam Giardino beginning at 1:05 p.m.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Record:

67-62

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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders pitcher Erik Swanson
(Louriann Mardo-Zayat)

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