Knights Blast Past RailRiders 12-2

(MOOSIC, PA) - The Charlotte Knights blew a close game open late to earn a 12-2 victory over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Wednesday night in game two of their three-game series from PNC Field.

The Knights began the scoring in the second as Yermin Mercedes came home to score on a wild pitch with the bases loaded for the game's first run. A couple hitters later with two outs, Ramón Torres lined a single to shallow right field, scoring Danny Mendick and Seby Zavala to put the Knights ahead 3-0.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre got on the board in the fourth on a two-run single from Eric Kratz. But Charlotte starter Donny Roach induced an inning-ending double play from Billy Burns to strand the tying run at third base with the Knights leading 3-2.
From there, the Charlotte lead only grew. Torres doubled it to 4-2 in the fifth with a solo shot inside the left field foul pole for his first home run as a Knight.  
With the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, Seby Zavala doubled to center to score a couple more runs. But the biggest offensive inning for Charlotte came in the eighth. Mercedes started the scoring with an RBI single to plate Torres. Mendick added a two-run single later in the inning before Zavala launched a two-run blast, his 17th home run of the season, to give the Knights a 12-2 lead.
That proved to be more than enough support for Roach (W, 3-6). Over 5.0 innings, he gave up just two earned runs on eight hits with one walk and two strikeouts to earn his third win of the season. First out of the bullpen, Zach Thompson threw 2.0 scoreless innings. Hunter Schryver and Thyago Vieira each pitched a clean frame to finish Charlotte's third straight win to improve their record to 61-53 on the season.
Offensively, Torres led the way by going 3-for-5 with the home run and three RBI while Zavala went 2-for-4 with a double, home run, and four RBI. Mercedes scored three times in the win and Nick Madrigal went 2-for-6 with a run scored.
The Knights and RailRiders conclude their series on Thursday night. Justin Nicolino (6-6, 6.09) is set to start for Charlotte. Pregame coverage of the 7:05 p.m. game is set for 6:50 p.m. on 730 The Game ESPN Charlotte. The "Voice of the Charlotte Knights" Matt Swierad will have the call for all of the action.