Ramon Flores Hits for the Cycle
Moosic, Pa. – Ramon Flores made sure fans of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Triple-A/New York Yankees) went home happy on Opening Night, becoming the third SWB player to hit for the cycle, and the RailRiders bounced the Syracuse Chiefs 8-3 behind 16 hits, including four from Flores. Eight of the RailRiders’ nine batters recorded at least one base knock.
Flores opened the RailRiders’ scoring in the bottom of the first with a booming home run out to right for his first hit. He followed that with a single in the second frame. The triple is always the hardest, but Flores got that out of the way in the fifth inning on a missile into the right-center gap. He completed the cycle in the eighth inning by lacing a double down the first base line.
Nick Rumbelow (1-0) took home the win after a scoreless relief appearance. The right-hander tossed 1.2 innings, recording a strikeout and walking one. Felipe Rivero (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing three runs on three hits in 1.1 innings of work.
The game was back-and-forth for the first half with the RailRiders chasing the visitors. Syracuse jumped on starter Bryan Mitchell for a run in the first thanks to a two-out single by Kila Ka’aihue.
After Flores knotted the score at one with his first-inning round-tripper, Syracuse reclaimed the lead in the second. Dan Butler singled with one out before Derrick Robinson grounded into a force out at second. Emmanuel Burriss followed with a base hit and consecutive walks by Mitchell forced in a run. Ian Stewart pushed home Robinson with the second base on balls.
Trailing 2-1, the RailRiders received helped from the Chiefs in re-tying the score in the second. Cole Figueroa began the inning with a single and moved to second on a hit by Slade Heathcott. Ramon Flores singled up the middle, but the ball was snared on a diving attempt by shortstop Emmanuel Burriss. Hoping for a play at second, Burriss attempted a flip that sailed into the infield grass. The error allowed Figueroa to score.
The game remained squared at two until Syracuse moved back in front in the sixth on an RBI-single by Burriss.
The RailRiders grabbed their first lead in the last of the seventh. Heathcott singled and stole second to position the tying run with one out for Flores. The red-hot outfielder drew a walk and Rob Refsnyder drove in Heathcott with a single. Tied 3-3, Kyle Roller beat out an infield hit to load the bases for Tyler Austin. A pitching change brought in Manny Delcarmen, but Austin was able to drive in a pair with a single to right off the right-hander for a 5-3 advantage.
SWB added padded the lead in the eighth by scoring three more. Nick Noonan and Eddy Rodriguez opened the inning with consecutive singles. A hit-and-run by Rodriguez moved Noonan to third. Heathcott scored Noonan on a groundout to second before Flores doubled in Rodriguez. Austin capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly later in the frame.
The RailRiders continue their opening series against the Syracuse Chiefs (Washington Nationals) on Friday, April 10. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. at PNC Field . For more information please call (570) 969-BALL (2255) or visit swbrailriders.com.
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