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IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes

May 9, 2015 - International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


ABOUT LAST NIGHT: A three-run seventh meant a late lead while the bullpen survived a comeback attack as the RailRiders defeated the best in the West, the Indianapolis Indians, 5-4.

SLADE'S BLADE: Slade Heathcott singled, walked and scored last night. He also secured his team-leading fourth steal. He leads the team with 12 multi-hit games and owns a squad-best five multi-RBI showings. His 36 hits on the season have him tied for fourth in the league with Lehigh Valley's Brian Bogusevic. Since he suffered an 0-for-6 night in the 15-inning game against the IronPigs on April 20, Heathcott has gone 25-for-62 (.403/.471/.484/.955) to lift his season-long batting average by nearly 100 points (.234-.330). The usual leadoff man paces the team with 15 RBIs.

BUTTER MY BREAD: Kyle Roller drove in a pair of runs including his team co-leading fourth home run, a solo shot to left at the start of the home second. Roller entered the game in a 2-for-18 funk with six strikeouts. However, three of his four homers have come over his last seven games. His 26 homers between two levels (AA/AAA) last season placed him second on the Yankees' farm as did his 74 RBIs. With 13 RBIs this season, he trails only Heathcott for the team lead.

INTERNATIONAL (LEAGUE) MAN OF MYSTERY: Tyler Austin also enjoyed a funk-busting night. The 23-year-old went 2-for-4 with an RBI double and a hard line out to right field. Austin had gone 0-for-15 in his prior four games and entered the night hitting a slim .169 at PNC Field.

ALL GOOD THINGS: Rob Refsnyder walked twice and scored a run but went 0-for-3 to lose the longest hitting streak of his Triple-A tenure at 10 games. The spurt started in game two of the April 25 doubleheader against Pawtucket. During his string of swinging success, the RailRiders' second baseman was 16-for-41 (.390) with four doubles and seven RBIs. It was the IL's third-longest active hitting streak.

SCCCCCOOOOOORRRREEEEE!: The RailRiders snapped their longest scoreless stretch of the season with Roller's homer. SWB had gone 14 frames without a tally since a four-run fourth in Wednesday's 5-3 defeat of the G-Braves.

NOT-SO-GENTLE BEN: Ben Gamel's four triples have him trailing only Toledo's Daniel Fields (5) for the IL lead. Gamel has more triples than four IL teams (Buffalo, Lehigh Valley, Norfolk and Pawtucket). After his 1-for-3 showing last night with an intentional walk and a run scored, he ranks among the IL's best in batting average (6th, .350) and on-base percentage (5th, .429). The intentional walk was the third of his career. The first two came with Adv.-A Tampa in 2013.

HIGHWAY ROBBERY: With southpaw Matt Tracy on the slab and Austin Romine behind the plate, the RailRiders nabbed two would-be base stealers in four tries. Despite that solid showing, SWB still sits at the bottom of the IL for patrolling the bases. The team has nabbed just five of 43 attempting to steal (.116). No IL team has a worse efficiency or has allowed more total swipes. The RailRiders sit tied with Rochester for the fewest successful steals in their favor at nine. However, the Red Wings have only been caught three times against 10 for SWB.

OFF THE RAILS: SWB's Cole Figueroa entered today as the IL's second-toughest hitter to whiff (25.25 PA/K)...Roller's 18 walks have him trailing only Durham's Vince Belnome (22) for the league lead...His 31 strikeouts make for the circuit's fifth-highest total...With his solo shot last night, 13 of SWB's 14 taters (93%) have come with the bases empty...The RailRiders have not been .500 since concluding last homestand at 9-9...The last winning SWB record was 1-0...The 2014 team's final taste of the air above sea level came after a 7-4 win over Toledo on June 9, 2014...That SWB team then lost five in a row and never got back over .500...The RailRiders improved to 3-0 when Tracy starts.

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