The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (23-28) concluded the six-game series on Sunday night against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (26-23) at Coca-Cola Park. Levi Stoudt was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Brendan Beck of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
In the bottom of the second inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded when right fielder Dylan Moore reached first base on a fielding error by third baseman Tyler Hardman. Carter Kieboom scored for a 1-0 lead. With one out, a wild pitch by Beck brought home Christian Cairo for a 2-0 lead. A groundout by Steward Berroa scored Dylan Carlson for a 3-0 lead. A flyout by Felix Reyes ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley starter Levi Stoudt pitched two innings, throwing 19 pitches, of which 12 were strikes. Ryan Cusick was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the third inning. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had runners on second and third base when George Lombard Jr. hit a two-run RBI single to center field. Payton Henry and Kenedy Corona scored, and the RailRiders trailed the IronPigs 3-2. With two outs, a groundout by Oswaldo Cabrera ended the inning.
Moving to the top of the fifth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had runners on second and third base when George Lombard Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to right field. Payton Henry scored, and the game was tied 3-3. Cusick struck out Yanquiel Fernández to retire the side. Ryan Cusick pitched four innings, allowing four hits, three runs, two walks, and four strikeouts, throwing 64 pitches, of which 38 were strikes.
Max Lazar pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. He struck out one, throwing 16 pitches, of which 11 were strikes, to get three outs. Grant Holman pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the eighth inning. He allowed a hit, a walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 23 pitches, of which 14 were strikes.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Lehigh Valley center fielder Steward Berroa hit a single. Felix Reyes followed up by hitting an RBI double to center field, scoring Berroa to give the IronPigs a 4-3 lead. With two outs, Liover Peguero struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Michael Mercado pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. He got the first two outs before giving up a single to Kenedy Corona and walking George Lombard Jr. Yanquiel Fernández followed by hitting a two-run RBI double to right field to give the RailRiders a 5-4 lead. Mercado struck out Oswaldo Cabrera to retire the side.
The Lehigh Valley IronPigs went on to lose to the RailRiders 5-4. They split the series 3-3. The IronPigs finished the night with five hits, committed one error, went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position, and left three men on base. The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Michael Mercado (1-1), and the win went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Bradley Hanner (3-0).
The IronPigs hit the road on Tuesday to start a six-game series against the Buffalo Bisons at 6:05 pm on the MLB App.
