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| PIGS WIN 1ST ROAD SERIES IN FRANCHISE HISTORY |
| Offense Explodes, Bullpen Hangs on in 10-8 Thriller Against Bulls |
| The Lehigh Valley IronPigs won their first road series in franchise history after holding on to beat the first-place Durham Bulls, 10-8 in a wacky finale from Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The IronPigs at one point led 10-1 but had to hold on through the middle innings and survived a 9th inning that saw the Bulls put the tying run at home plate. Jon Knott and Jason Jaramillo each homered for Lehigh Valley who also picked up their first winning road trip in team history after going 5-3 through Charlotte and Durham. |
| Knott, who hit four home runs on the eight-day trip, including three bombs against the Bulls, was instrumental in the IronPigs’ fast start against Durham starter Chris Mason (3-8). Already up 1-0 on an RBI single by Andy Tracy, Knott drove a Mason offering over the fence in right-centerfield to put the Pigs up 3-0 before Durham had a chance to bat. The right fielder hit .313 (5-for-16) with three homers and seven RBI in the four games from against the Bulls. |
| In the 2nd, up 3-1 now, Mike Rouse knocked in a pair with one of his season-high three doubles in the game to put Lehigh Valley up by four. The shortstop would come around to score one batter later on an RBI single up the middle by Mike Cervenak. T.J. Bohn doubled off Mason in the 3rd and was driven in on a Casey Smith single that stretched the IronPigs lead to 7-1. |
| It just was not a good night for the 23-year-old right-hander Mason who went 15-4 in 28 starts with Double-A Montgomery last season. Tampa Bay’s 2nd round draft pick in the 2005 draft was taken out once and for all in the 4th but not before allowing a three-run homer to Jaramillo, his fourth of the year, to put Lehigh Valley up nine runs. Mason then hit the next batter, Brennan King, and was promptly ejected by home plate umpire Manuel Gonzalez. In 3.2 innings, Mason was tagged for 10 earned runs on 13 hits including a pair of homers. |
| Despite the adversity, Durham hung tough and nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback. They scored two times in the bottom of the 4th then knocked IronPigs starter Gary Knotts out of the game in the 5th when they scored five times highlighted by a triple with the bases loaded by Elliot Johnson to pull the Bulls to within two. Knotts walked five and allowed eight runs on six hits in just 4.2 innings but was given a lift by his offense and the Lehigh Valley bullpen. |
| Jason Anderson (1-1), R.J. Swindle, Stephen Randolph and Matt Childers combined to pitch 4.1 innings of scoreless baseball and allowed just four baserunners to preserve the IronPigs 31st victory of the season. Anderson settled down after give up the Johnson triple to earn his first win of the season out of Dave Huppert’s bullpen. Childers did make it interesting in the 9th as Bulls’ DH Dan Johnson, who had 11 home runs coming into the game, represented the tying run at the plate in a two-run game. The IronPigs closer would get his man however, as he got Johnson to ground out to second to seal the victory. |
| The Lehigh Valley IronPigs return home on Friday for a weekend series against the Syracuse Chiefs and exciting promotions and giveaways are planned for the entirety of the three-game set. |
| The festivities begin when the IronPigs and Chiefs open the series on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. Immediately following the game a post-game fireworks show will commence as part of Friday Night Fireworks presented by Chevrolet. Also, Fly-Away-Friday presented by the Lehigh Valley International Airport will award a lucky fan a trip for two to Florida on Allegiant Airlines. |
| Matt Provence will once again be joined by Jon Schaeffer to bring all the action from Coca-Cola Park beginning at 6:35 p.m. on the AT&T pre-game show on flagship station 90.3 FM WXLV, 95.1 HD-2 WZZO, “The Digital Home of the IronPigs” and 89.1 FM WYBF The Burn. The game will also be televised live along the IronPigs Television Network powered by Service Electric Cable TV & Communications featuring Mike Zambelli and Ricky Bottalico. |
| Single-game tickets, mini-plan packages and group tickets for the IronPigs inaugural season, presented by Capital BlueCross, are on sale now and can be purchased at the Coca-Cola Park Ticket Office, online at www.ironpigsbaseball.com or by calling (610) 841-PIGS. |
