Eshelman Tosses Pigs To 6-0 Shutout

Tom Eshelman was brilliant in the IronPigs (36-16) 6-0 shutout victory of the Indianapolis Indians (28-23) Wednesday night at Victory Field in Indianapolis.

Eshelman recorded the first IronPigs nine inning complete game shutout of the season, and the first since Dave Bush did so on May 22, 2012 against the Louisville Bats. The Carlsbad, Calif., native yielded just five hits, surrendering his first hit in the third inning but quickly worked out of the one out base runner striking out the next batter and inducing a ground ball out to end the frame.
After surrendering a lead off double in the ninth inning to Danny Ortiz, Eshelman struck out Jason Rogers, got Erich Weiss to fly out to left and the induced a ground out by Eric Wood to Featherston to end the game.
The 6-0 shutout victory is the Pigs International League leading eighth shutout victory of the season and the Pigs finish the month of May with a record of 24-5.
In total, Eshelman constructed five three-up-three-down innings and struck out six Indians in the Pigs 6-0 victory.
The Pigs gave the starter plenty of run support, though it was a pitcher's duel through the first seven innings.
Jorge Flores put the first run on the board for the Pigs as he sent an RBI single to right, scoring Hoskins to give the Pigs a 1-0 lead after two innings.
Hoskins then tripled home Dylan Cozens in the top of the seventh inning to double the Pigs lead to 2-0.
A four-run eighth inning all but sealed the Pigs victory as Jorge Alfaro sent a bases loaded RBI single to right field, scoring Taylor Featherston to give the Pigs a 3-0 advantage.
Cozens then doubled the Pigs lead with one swing of the bat, as the now 23-year-old cleared the bases with a three-run triple to give the Pigs a 6-0 lead.
The rubber match of the three-game series is set for Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. with the Indianapolis Indians at Victory Field. The Pigs had yet to announce their starter at the time of print, and the Indians will send left-hander Steven Brault (2-3, 2.48)
The 2017 Season is the IronPigs 10^th Anniversary season at Coca-Cola Park and 10^th as the top affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The IronPigs are debuting the brand-new Bacon, USA, Membership Program this season -- a year-round IronPigs experience pass featuring numerous new amenities such as savings on parking at games and at the Majestic Clubhouse Store at Coca-Cola Park, on-field VIP access to watch batting practice, access to an annual holiday party, an invitation to an exclusive player and coaches photo session and more. For more information, visit ironpigsbaseball.com or call (610) 841-PIGS (7447). Memberships and group outings are on sale now.
The 2017 IronPigs baseball season is presented by Capital BlueCross.