MOOSIC, Pa. (June 20, 2018) - The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders defeated the Lehigh Valley IronPigs 5-3 in walk-off fashion on Wednesday night at PNC Field. The 2018 IronRail Series now stands at 6-5 in favor of the RailRiders.
MOOSIC, Pa. (June 20, 2018) - The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders defeated the Lehigh Valley IronPigs 5-3 in walk-off fashion on Wednesday night at PNC Field. The 2018 IronRail Series now stands at 6-5 in favor of the RailRiders.
With Kyle Higashioka aboard at first base and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Zack Zehner curled a 1-1 pitch from Zac Curtis over the wall in right field for a walk-off two-run home run. It was the sixth walk-off win for the RailRiders in 2018, and the second time that such a win came via a home run.
The contest was deadlocked early but the IronPigs struck first in the top of the fourth. Joey Meneses and Trevor Plouffe hit back-to-back solo home runs against Josh Rogers to give Lehigh Valley a 2-0 lead.
The two solo shots were the only blemish against the southpaw in his start. Rogers allowed two runs on five hits, walking one and striking out four. Wednesday's start was the eighth quality start of the season for Rogers in 14 games.
Ben Lively was strong for the first six innings for the IronPigs, but got into trouble in the bottom of the seventh when he walked Mark Payton and Brandon Drury to lead off the frame. Tyler Austin then deposited the first pitch of his at-bat over the right field fence for an opposite field three-run home run to give the RailRiders a 3-2 advantage. For Austin, the round-tripper was his second of the season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and his second in as many nights.
Giovanny Gallegos threw scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth, but ran into two-out trouble in the ninth. Matt McBride snuck a single through the left side of the infield, and Danny Ortiz drove a double to left center to score him from first and tie the game at 3-3. Cody Carroll (3-0) was summoned from the bullpen to close out the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, Curtis struck out the first two batters he faced before walking Higashioka. Zehner was summoned off the bench to pinch hit for Bruce Caldwell, setting the stage for his heroic blast.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre completes its three-game series with a rubber game against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs Thursday night at PNC Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. RHP David Hale (3-2, 4.50) takes the ball for the RailRiders, while LHP Cole Irvin (8-2, 2.50) heads to the slab for the IronPigs. For tickets and more information, call (570) 969-BALL or slide to www.swbrailriders.com/tickets.
