Chiefs explode past IronPigs with ten-run ninth inning

Allentown, PA (June 16, 2017) - The Syracuse Chiefs exploded for ten runs in the ninth inning on the way to a 17-9 victory over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs Friday night at Coca-Cola Park. It marked a season-high for runs in an inning (10), runs in a game (17) and hits in a game (18) this year for the Chiefs, and Syracuse's most runs in a game since July 26th, 2012, a 17-9 win at Rochester. Brandon Snyder drove in six runs, a season-high for RBIs by a Chief this year. The Chiefs finished 13-for-21 with runners in scoring position on the night. 

Syracuse (21-42) entered the ninth down 9-7 and faced Pedro Beato, who entered the game having converted 20 of 21 save opportunities this season for the IronPigs. Beato started by walking Alejandro De Aza on eight pitches and then walked Snyder. After Clint Robinson singled to load the bases, Beato walked Joey Butler to bring in a run and cut the lead to one. Andrew Stevenson then hit a ground-rule double down the left-field line to plate both Snyder to tie the game and Robinson to give the Chiefs the lead, 10-9. From there, Beato walked pinch hitter Caleb Ramsey and allowed an RBI single to Spencer Kieboom for an 11-9 Chiefs lead. The IronPigs turned to Jesen Therrien and he allowed a two-run single to Emmanuel Burriss to push the lead to 13-9. After a strikeout and RBI single by De Aza, Snyder capped the inning with a three-run home run, his 13th of the season, to cap the scoring at 17-9 after the ten-run inning.
The Chiefs grabbed the lead first way back in the first inning. Wilmer Difo led off the game with a double against Cesar Ramos and two batters later, Snyder hit one off the wall in right to score Difo for a 1-0 lead.
Lehigh Valley (43-24) would make it a short-lived lead as Rhys Hoskins homered with two outs, his league-leading 15th of the season.
The IronPigs added another run in the second. Nick Williams doubled to right center off Chiefs starter Austin Voth. Williams moved to third on a groundout and scored on Logan Moore's single to right for a 2-1 lead.
Stevenson helped the Chiefs grabbed a two-out run to tie the game in the fourth. Stevenson tripled for the second time in three games with two outs, and scored on Adrían Sanchez's single to tie the score.
But the IronPigs answered right back. Voth walked Dylan Cozens to start the inning. After a flyout, Hector Gomez doubled down the left-field line to put runners on second and third. Moore then picked up his second RBI on a sacrifice fly to right to give the IronPigs the lead back at 3-2. Angelo Mora then extended the inning with a single to right to score Gomez for a 4-2 advantage. Syracuse committed two straight errors, first Ramos hit a grounder to third off of Snyder, and then Cam Perkins reached on an error on Difo at short, and Mora scored to push the lead to 5-2.
The Chiefs answered in the back-and-forth affair in the fifth. Voth helped his own cause and singled to start the inning, followed by a Difo single and De Aza walk to load the bases with no-one out. The IronPigs turned to Michael Mariot out of the bullpen, and after he struck out Snyder, Robinson hit a sharp ground ball to the left side. Gomez knocked it down at third, but couldn't get an out on an infield single that cut the deficit to 5-3. Mariot then induced a double play to end the threat.
In the bottom of the fifth, Cozens tied his teammate Hoskins for the league lead with his 15th home run, the one over the left-center field fence on a line drive, bringing the IronPigs lead to 6-3.
Syracuse took the lead back with a four-run sixth. Stevenson singled and Sanchez walked to begin the inning. Kieboom then singled through the vacant hole on the right side of the shift, bringing home Stevenson and cutting the score to 6-4. After a flyout, Difo hit a hard line drive to right that fell just in front of Cozens, scoring Sanchez to bring the Chiefs within one. After De Aza singled to reload the bases, Snyder doubled to deep left-center field, bringing home Kieboom and Difo to give Syracuse the lead back at 7-6. De Aza was thrown out at the plate trying to score on the play.
The IronPigs squared the game at seven in the seventh. Hoskins singled against Erick Fedde, and Cozens drove Hoskins in with a double to right center. Fedde allowed three hits and a run in two innings in his second Chiefs outing.
Lehigh Valley broke the tie in the eighth against Neal Cotts. Mora singled and pinch hitter Jorge Flores walked while trying to lay down a bunt. Cam Perkins then successfully sacrificed the runners over on a bunt to back to Cotts. Pedro Florimon followed with an RBI single to right to score Mora, and then Hoskins hit a sacrifice fly to left against Rafael Martín to plate Flores and give the IronPigs a 9-7 lead, that would evaporate in the ninth.
The Chiefs and IronPigs play game two of the three-game weekend series Saturday night at 6:35 p.m. Dustin Antolin is scheduled to start for Syracuse opposite Tom Eshelman for Lehigh Valley.