Pigs Sweep G-Braves With 5-1 Win In Finale

The IronPigs (60-37) rallied for a four-run ninth inning to defeat the Gwinnett Braves (47-48) by the score of 5-1Wednesday night at Coolray Field. 

The Pigs yet again used some late inning magic, scoring four runs in the top of the ninth inning to take the series over the G-Braves.
With the score tied at 1, Logan Moore would walk with one out in the frame. Moore's walk was followed by an infield single from Herlis Rodriguez to move the go-ahead run in scoring position.
Andrew Pullin then pinch hit for Michael Mariot, and would send a ground ball throw the legs of Gwinnett's first baseman Carlos Franco. The ball then trickled down the right field line, allowing both Moore and Rodriguez to score and Pullin would advance to third on the error by Franco.
With a 3-1 lead, the Pigs were not done. Scott Kingery followed Pullin with RBI single, scoring Pullin to up the Pigs lead 4-1. After a J.P. Crawford line out, Rhys Hoskins walked putting runners at first and second for Dylan Cozens. Cozens would single to right, and Kingery would hustle around the bases to give the Pigs a 5-1 advantage.
Pat Venditte would come on to close out the game in a non-save situation in the ninth. He made quick work of Dustin Peterson who sent a sharp ground ball that clipped Venditte, but the ball was recovered by Kingery and thrown on to Hoskins to record the out. Venditte would surrender a base hit to Micah Johnson before getting Carlos Franco and David Freitas to fly out to end the game.
Both starting pitchers had the exact same pitching lines, with neither factoring into the decision. The Pigs Zach Eflin and Gwinnett's Andrew Albers both tossed seven innings, surrendering just one run on five hits while walking three batters and striking out five batters.
Mariot spelled Eflin in the eighth inning, as the right-hander notched his sixth win of the season. He would toss just one inning while striking out a batter.
The Pigs would score first in a pitcher's duel, as Hoskins would come around to score on a sacrifice fly from Héctor Gómez to give the Pigs the 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth.
However, the G-Braves would answer right back as Freitas singled home Johnson to tie the game at 1 in the bottom half of the inning.
For the series, the Pigs scored 13 of their 18 runs in the series from the eighth inning or later to sweep the G-Braves in the three-game series.
The Pigs now travel for a four-game set with the Durham Bulls, beginning Thursday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The Pigs will send right-hander Jake Thompson (3-11, 5.59) and the Bulls will send right-hander Austin Pruitt (0-0, 2.29). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
The 2017 Season is the IronPigs 10^th Anniversary season at Coca-Cola Park and 10^th as the top affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The IronPigs are debuting the brand-new Bacon, USA, Membership Program this season -- a year-round IronPigs experience pass featuring numerous new amenities such as savings on parking at games and at the Majestic Clubhouse Store at Coca-Cola Park, on-field VIP access to watch batting practice, access to an annual holiday party, an invitation to an exclusive player and coaches photo session and more. For more information, visit ironpigsbaseball.com or call (610) 841-PIGS (7447). Memberships and group outings are on sale now.
The 2017 IronPigs baseball season is presented by Capital BlueCross.