Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon

Wild Night(cap): RailRiders split twinbill with IronPigs

SWB falls 12-1 in game one and wins game two 12-9 in extras on Wednesday
Ismael Munguia's ninth inning grand slam proved to plate the deciding runs in game two on Wednesday. (Cheryl Pursell)
August 7, 2025

ALLENTOWN, PA (August 6, 2025) – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders split a doubleheader with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Wednesday night at Coca-Cola Park, falling 12-1 in game one before winning the nightcap 12-9 in nine innings. Box Score- Game One The RailRiders opened the scoring in the top of the

ALLENTOWN, PA (August 6, 2025) – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders split a doubleheader with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Wednesday night at Coca-Cola Park, falling 12-1 in game one before winning the nightcap 12-9 in nine innings.

Box Score- Game One

The RailRiders opened the scoring in the top of the first against MLB rehabber Aaron Nola. Spencer Jones and T.J. Rumfield singled and J.C. Escarra walked to load the bases with one away. Jose Rojas worked a walk to give Scranton/Wilkes-Barre a 1-0 lead.

The IronPigs leveled the game at one in the bottom of the first when Justin Crawford scored on a groundout.

Lehigh Valley took the lead against Erick Leal in the third. With one on and two down, a catcher’s interference error extended the inning. Gabriel Rincones, Jr. hit a three-run homer to center for a 4-1 IronPigs lead. Lehigh Valley added four runs on four hits in the fourth and four more on three hits, two walks and a hit batter in the fifth for a 12-1 lead.

Leal (7-8) surrendered the first nine runs, eight earned, on eight hits over four-plus innings in the loss. Michael Mercado (4-1) followed Nola with 1.1 scoreless and notched the win.

Box Score- Game Two

In the nightcap, Lehigh Valley took a 1-0 edge in the bottom of the second when Donovan Walton’s RBI-single plated Rincones, Jr.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre countered with three runs in the third. Rumfield’s bases-loaded double gave the RailRiders the lead and a sac fly by Escarra built a 3-1 edge.

The IronPigs tallied three runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 4-3 advantage. Luis Verdugo scored on a sac bunt and a throwing error. Brewer Hicklen’s single to shallow center plated Crawford to tie the game at three before a Rincones sac fly gave Lehigh Valley a 4-3 lead.

Rumfield launched a solo home run in the top of the sixth to tie the game at four.

After a scoreless seventh and top of the eighth, the IronPigs had the winning run at third with no one out in the bottom of the eighth. Jake Bird struck out Payton Henry and intentionally walked Robert Moore to load the bases. RailRiders manager Shelley Duncan brought left fielder Jose Rojas in for a five-man infield and Bird induced a seven-four-three double play to carry the game to the ninth.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre sent ten to the plate in the ninth, scoring eight runs. Bryan De La Cruz singled in the go-ahead run for the lead. Rojas added a pair with a single for a 7-4 edge. The IronPigs were forced to use infielder Rafael Lantigua to pitch. After a Jones sac fly, Ismael Munguia hit a grand slam off Lantigua for a 12-4 lead.

In the bottom of the ninth, Bird walked the first two batters he faced and Munguia, who initially pinch ran for DH J.C. Escarra in the top of the inning, came on to pitch with the bases loaded and no outs. Lehigh Valley scored five runs in the inning on three hits and a sac fly, but Munguia induced a groundout and a flyout to end the game with a 12-9 final.

Bird (1-0) earned the win while Nicholas Padilla (4-4) was charged with the loss.

The RailRiders and IronPigs meet for game four of their set on Thursday evening. Allan Winans gets the call for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against Lehigh Valley and Gabe Mosser. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 P.M.