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Traffic report for August 14

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WVC football ready to get started

MOOSIC &#8212; In the last 10 days, Eric Wooten has compiled quite a few miles in his travels.The 25-year-old has gone from Trenton to Columbus to be with the RailRiders then back to Trenton. He then ended up in Single-A Tampa before heading to Moosic for Thursday night&#8217;s game against Pawtucket.Not knowing if he was going to pitch, the left-hander sat in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre bullpen. Although weary from his travels, Wooten was called upon and came up big tossing 5 2/3 scoreless innings to help the RailRiders complete a four-game sweep of Pawtucket at PNC Field.&#8220;My game plan always is to pitch to contact,&#8221; Wooten said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t have a lot of velocity so anytime I can get the early out, get the ball on the ground, or get 1-2 strikes; it&#8217;s big.&#8221;Of course, Wooten wasn&#8217;t the only standout for the red-hot club, which has won five in a row overall and eight in a row over the PawSox.The RailRiders won late for the third time in the series. While the team&#8217;s International League MVP candidate Ben Gamel sparked both team rallies in the game, the offensive hero this time around was Jose Pirela who came through with the game-winning hit lacing an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to score Gamel.With the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Gamel and Rob Refsnyder laced consecutive one-out singles to set the stage for Pirela, who came through with a single to shallow right as Gamel hustled to score from second and give the RailRiders the lead.&#8220;We&#8217;re all super competitive and don&#8217;t like losing,&#8221; Refsnyder said. &#8220;Guys are getting called up here and there, but we got a good core here and it&#8217;s fun playing with a lot of guys. &#8230; Every inning it feels like someone&#8217;s gonna do something pretty special so it&#8217;s fun.&#8221;The late victory wouldn&#8217;t have been possible if not for the strong pitching in relief by Wooten (2-3), who allowed just four hits and only got in trouble in one inning, the top of the fifth. That was the only frame when he allowed multiple baserunners. But with two on and one out, he struck out Sandy Leon and got Garrin Cecchini to fly out to end the inning.Not wanting to rally late again, the RailRiders didn&#8217;t waste any time getting on the scoreboard in the first inning.As usual, leadoff hitter Gamel &#8212; who continued to be red-hot going 2 for 4 to extend his hitting streak to 12 games and amassing multiple hits in 12 of his last 19 games &#8212; got things started by singling up the middle. After Refsnyder dropped a bunt down the third base line for a single, Aaron Judge plated both runners with a single giving SWB a 2-0 lead.&#8220;I tried to help the team out and give us a little bit of an early lead,&#8221; Refsnyder said about his bunt in the first inning. &#8220;And Aaron did a good job getting us in.&#8221;Judge, who began the series in a 4 for 37 slump, broke out in the series totaling five hits and six RBI in his three games he played in the series.Pawtucket got to RailRiders starter Joel De La Cruz in the top of the third and chased him after the inning when they sent eight batters to the plate and scored twice.De La Cruz, who entered the game with a 7-0 record, walked three and allowed two hits in the inning. He needed 40 pitches to get out. The first run scored on a groundout, while the tying run came in on a single by Leon. De La Cruz then walked Cecchini to load the bases before striking out Marco Hernandez to end the inning.De La Cruz allowed eight baserunners in his three innings while dancing out of trouble the first two frames. He allowed a pair of one-out hits in the first inning before getting a double play to get out of it. And in the second, the PawSox got another single with one out before De La Cruz retired the next two. In the outing, the right-hander threw 66 pitches and allowed five hits.RailRiders 3, PawSox 2Pawtucket`AB`R`H`BIMarrero ss`4`1`1`0Berry cf`4`0`2`0Rivero 3b`5`0`2`1Craig rf`2`0`0`0Leon c`4`0`1`1Cecchini lf`3`0`1`0Hernandez dh`4`0`2`0Weeks 2b`4`0`0`0Spring 1b`2`1`0`0Miller pr`0`0`0`0Totals`32`2`9`2RailRiders`AB`R`H`BIGamel lf`4`2`2`0Refsnyder 2b`2`1`2`0Pirela 3b`4`0`1`1Sanchez dh`4`0`1`0Judge rf`2`0`1`2Heathcott cf`3`0`0`0Figueroa ss`3`0`0`0Romine c`3`0`0`0Roller 1b`3`0`0`0Totals`28`3`7`3Pawtucket`002`0o0`o00`&#8212;`2RailRiders`200`000`01x` &#8212;`3DP: PawSox 2, RailRiders 2. LOB: PawSox 10, RailRiders 4. 2B: Sanchez (7). SAC: Berry, Marrera. SB: Judge (5). Pickoffs: Leon (Refsnyder at first).Pawtucket`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SOHaviland (L, 4-7) `7.1`6`3`3`2`3Ramirez `0.2`1`0`0`0`0RailRiders`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SODe La Cruz `3.0`5`2`2`3`2Wooten (W, 2-3) `5.2`4`0`0`2`4Pazos (S, 2)`0.1`0`0`0`0`1WP: HavilandHBP: Refsnyder (by Haviland)Umpires: HP: Jeremy Riggs. 1B: Ian FazioT: 2:28. Att: 6,527.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Dave Rosengrantdrosengrant@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>The T.L. ExpressGame Highlights: Eric Wooten tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen to pick up the win and lead the RailRiders to their fifth straight win. &#8230;Jose Pirela laced a one-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to give SWB a 3-2 lead, the eventual final score. &#8230;Ben Gamel extended his hitting streak to 12 games going 2 for 4 with a pair of runs scored, while second baseman Rob Refsnyder reached base in all four of his plate appearances scoring a run and finishing 2 for 2. &#8230;Rightfielder Aaron Judge got the team going in the bottom of the first with a two-run single scoring Gamel and Refsnyder. &#8230;SWB starter Joel De La Cruz struggled only lasting three innings and allowing two runs, while allowing eight baserunners and throwing 66 pitches in the outing.Race for the IL North: After Thursday&#8217;s win, the RailRiders have a record of 68-52 and are 6.0 games ahead of second-place Buffalo with 24 games remaining. Buffalo and third-place Rochester squared off on Thursday in a doubleheader and split the two games. SWB&#8217;s magic number to clinch its first division title since 2012 is now 19.Riding the Rails: First baseman Greg Bird was called up to the Yankees and started at first base for the Big League club on Thursday. In corresponding moves, right-hander Nick Goody was optioned to the RailRiders and fellow righty Branden Pinder reported to SWB after an option earlier in the week. In two more moves, Wednesday&#8217;s starter Eric Ruth was transferred back to Double-A Trenton, while lefty Eric Wooten was transferred from Trenton to the RailRiders. To get Bird on the Yankees 40-man roster, right-hander Diego Moreno was transferred from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL.Attendance: 6,527Time of Game: 2:28Today&#8217;s Probables: RailRiders righty Brady Lail (1-1, 5.23) vs. Rochester RHP Michael Bowden (1-1, 5.74)On Deck: The series at Rochester runs through the weekend. After a day off on Monday, the RailRiders are back home on Tuesday to start a stretch of six straight at PNC Field.On the Radio: All games can be heard on NEPA Sports Radio WYCK 1340-AM, 1400-AM, 1440-AM, 100.7-FM, 106.7-FMOn TV: There&#8217;s just two more chances to catch the RailRiders live on MyTV (WQMY) and both are next week on back-to-back nights. On Thursday, Aug. 20 SWB faces Lehigh Valley, and on Friday, Aug. 21, the RailRiders host Rochester; coverage of both games start at 7 p.m.HOW THEY SCOREDRAILRIDERS FIRST: Ben Gamel singled. Rob Refsnyder hit a bunt single. Jose Pirela grounded out, but advanced the runners. Gary Sanchez lined out. Aaron Judge singled plating Gamel and Refsnyder. Judge stole second. Slade Heathcott struck out. RAILRIDERS 2-0PAWTUCKET THIRD: Matt Spring walked. Deven Marrero singled. Quintin Berry sacrificed the runners. Carlos Rivero grounded out, Spring scored and Marrero moved to third. Allen Craig walked. Sandy Leon singled to score Marrero. Garin Cecchini walked to load the bases. Marco Hernandez struck out. TIED 2-2RAILRIDERS EIGHTH: Kyle Roller flied out. Gamel singled. Refsnyder singled. Pirela singled to score Gamel. Sanchez grounded into a doubleplay, Pirela out at second. RAILRIDERS 3-2</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Dave Rosengrant at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @tldrosengrant</shirttailMeta></div>

Red-hot RailRiders keep rolling along