RailRiders outduel Jumbo Shrimp in series opener
Caleb Durbin worked a walk and Everson Pereira was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning to give the RailRiders some breathing room in a 7-6 victory Tuesday over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp at 121 Financial Ballpark.
With the teams tied at 5, Jacksonville reliever Devin Smeltzer got Jose Rojas to fly out to start the top of the eighth. Luis Torrens hit a single to right field before Greg Allen struck.
However, Jeter Downs kicked off a two-out rally with a double to left. Kevin Smith walked to load the bases before Durbin's walk gave the RailRiders a 6-5 advantage. Pereira was hit by a pitch to stretch the lead to 7-5. Smeltzer finally got T.J. Rumfield to ground out and end the inning.
The Jumbo Shrimp fought back behind Will Banfield's RBI triple, but RailRiders reliever Anthony Misiewicz stopped the bleeding with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
Phil Bickford secured the save with a 1-2-3 inning, which included two strikeouts.
Every time the RailRiders scored in the top half of the inning, the Jumbo Shrimp responded with at least one run in the bottom half.
Jose Rojas gave the RailRiders a 1-0 lead in the first on a fielder's choice. Jonah Bride answered with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half to tie the game at 1. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's Josh VanMeter hit a two-run homer before Jacksonville's Griffin Conine hit a solo shot in the fourth. In the seventh, Rumfield gave the RailRiders a 5-2 lead on a two-run blast, but Victor Mesa Jr. had a three-run blast to tie it at 5.
However, the RailRiders gained the edge on the walk and hit by pitch in the eighth.
The RailRiders continue their six-game series at Jacksonville on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. Clayton Beeter (2-1, 3.63 ERA) is expected to get the start for the RailRiders.
