Red Sox beat Mudcats 3-1 to secure postseason

Salem wins second half North Division Championship

September 2, 2019

SALEM, Virginia (September 1, 2019) - The Salem Red Sox downed the Carolina Mudcats 3-1 Sunday afternoon at Haley Toyota Field to clinch the 2019 second-half North Division championship and punch their ticket to the Carolina League postseason.How it Happened * Garrett Benge led-off the tilt with a single, Devlin

SALEM, Virginia (September 1, 2019) - The Salem Red Sox downed the Carolina Mudcats 3-1 Sunday afternoon at Haley Toyota Field to clinch the 2019 second-half North Division championship and punch their ticket to the Carolina League postseason.

How it Happened
* Garrett Benge led-off the tilt with a single, Devlin Granberg reached safely on a Mudcats fielding error and Benge scored on a passed ball. Kole Cottam doubled the advantage with an RBI double to take a 2-0 lead.
* Carolina cut the difference with a sacrifice fly in the third inning.
* Daniel Gonzalez stretched through five innings, permitting just the one run with four strikeouts.
* Logan Browning carried the next three frames with just one hit and two strikeouts.
* Salem added insurance in the sixth; Triston Casas singled, Tyler Esplin walked to push him to scoring position when a deep single from Tanner Nishioka scored Casas to take a 3-1 advantage.
* Andrew Schwaab shut the door on a strikeout to pick up his 13^th save, clinch the win, series, and postseason.
Standout Sox
* Kole Cottam: 1-for-4, RBI, 2B
* Daniel Gonzalez: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K - W (6-10)
* Logan Browning: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K - H (3)
* Andrew Schwaab: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K - S (13)
* Tanner Nishioka: 1-for-3, RBI

Noteworthy
* The win clinches a playoff birth for Salem as well as the second-half North Division championship.
* The Red Sox have won nine of their last 10 tilts.
What's Next
Salem Red Sox vs Carolina Mudcats, September 2, 2019. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 PM EST.
RHP Alex Scherff vs LHP Scotty Sunitsch
Listen: SalemSox.com, TuneIn Radio, ESPN Blacksburg WKEX 1430 AM/94.1 FM, WGMN 1240 AM/93.3 FM
Watch: MiLB.TV, WSLS-MeTV
The Salem Red Sox are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and call Haley Toyota Field in Salem, Virginia home. The team was founded in 1968 and purchased by Fenway Sports Management in December of 2007. For more information on the Salem Red Sox, please visit SalemRedSox.com or contact Melanie Newman at [email protected].