RailRiders Come Up Short in Repeat Bid

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Moosic, Pa. - As they did all season, the SWB RailRiders (Triple-A/ New York Yankees) fought to the bitter end on Friday night at PNC Field, but fell short, 6-4, against the Durham Bulls in Game Four of the International League Governors' Cup Championship Series. The Bulls (3-1) claim their second title in five seasons. The RailRiders (1-3) closed out another memorable campaign.
Starter Brady Lail (0-1) hurled three scoreless frames before running into trouble in the fourth. Trailing 1-0, Durham's Daniel Robertson drove in two with a bases-loaded single to right and a third run came home on an error. The Bulls added on another run with consecutive doubles in by Kean Wong and Willy Adames.
The Bulls used five relievers behind starter Burch Smith. Hunter Wood (1-0) took home the victory, retiring the only batter he faced. Diego Castillo notched the final five outs for the save.
Jonathan Diaz reached bases four times for SWB. He singled to left in the third and scored on a hit to right by Miguel Andújar for a 1-0 lead.
The Bulls scored six in a row, including a two-run homer by Robertson, before the RailRiders mounted one last charge. Mike Ford doubled for the second time in the game and scored on a grounder by Jake Cave in the sixth. Kyle Higashioka worked a bases-loaded walk to force in a run in the seventh. Diaz walked and crossed home as the game's final run in the eighth thanks to a throwing error by Robertson.
Durham's Jake Bauers was named Most Valuable Player after hitting .412 (7-for-17) with two doubles, two RBIs, and three runs scored.
The RailRiders host the 2017 Gildan Triple-A National Championship on Tuesday, September 19 at 7:07 p.m. The Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays) will face either the Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals) or El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego Padres) out of the Pacific Coast League. For tickets or more information, please call 570-969-BALL (2255) or visit swbrailriders.com.
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