Hoskins Leads Pigs To 11-5 Victory Over Tides

The IronPigs (68-49) launched four home runs, and totaled 16 hits in a 11-4 victory over the Norfolk Tides (54-63) Wednesday night at Coca-Cola Park before 8,434 fans.

Rhys Hoskins put the final nail in the coffin with a no-doubt three-run home run to left field, to give the Pigs a 11-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. For Hoskins it was his 29^th home run of the season on a 3-1 pitch that he drilled 405 feet out of Coca-Cola Park.
 After Pigs starter Tom Eshelman surrendered a solo home run to Tides outfielder Mike Yastrzemski in the top of the second, giving Norfolk an early 1-0 lead.
For Eshelman, the home run was the lone run the right-hander would surrender, as he tossed six innings while racking up five strike outs. The Carlsbad, Calif., native picked up his eighth win as an IronPig.
Trailing 1-0, Scott Kingery and J.P. Crawford would hit back-to-back jacks in the bottom of the third inning to give the Pigs a 2-1 advantage that they would not relinquish.
The Pigs would add a four-spot in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by a two-run double from Hoskins and a second two-run double from Brock Stassi.
After Stassi walked to lead off the bottom of the seventh, Andrew Pullin drilled a two-run bomb to right field to extend the Pigs lead to 8-2 lead.
Logan Moore then struck out and was followed by a fly out by Herlis Rodriguez before back-to-back singles from Kingery and Crawford to set the table for Hoskins three-run blast.
The Pigs surrendered two runs in the final inning, but halted any potential Tides comeback and ended their season-long six-game losing streak.
The Pigs now welcome the Charlotte Knights for a four-game seriesThursday night at Coca-Cola Park. The Pigs will send right-hander Ben Lively (7-3,2.62) and the Knights will send right-hander Lucas Giolito (4-10, 4.73). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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.