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Nanticoke defeats West Pittston for Section 5 crown, berth in state playoffs

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MOOSIC &#8212; The New York Yankees shipped Luis Cessa to Triple-A with plans for the pitcher to develop a solid slider.Looks like that process still needs more work.Cessa surrendered three home runs Thursday, including two on sliders, as an energy-sapped Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders team returned to PNC Field with an 8-4 loss to Durham.&#8220;I understand, in the big leagues, I need a slider,&#8221; Cessa said. &#8220;The last two or three starts, I just had to throw the slider. I need more focus, maybe I need to throw it more down and away.&#8221;A couple of them went up and over the wall.Durham&#8217;s Taylor Motter tagged a hanging slider for a two-run home run in the third inning as the Bulls pulled within 4-3 of the RailRiders, and Daniel Robertson&#8217;s two-run homer off another slider in the sixth lifted Durham into a 7-4 lead.Richie Shaffer&#8217;s solo home run in the fourth came on a changeup from Cessa.&#8220;The last couple starts, I threw the slider. The last two were good,&#8221; said Cessa, who fell to 4-2 with the RailRiders this season. &#8220;This (start) was good, too, I made good pitches.&#8220;I&#8217;ll just keep working.&#8221;Cessa had a point.He finished with a season-high eight strikeouts and held Durham scoreless for the first two innings while the RailRiders built a 4-0 lead.But by the time he finished, Cessa surrendered eight hits and seven runs during his six innings as his ERA rose to 3.49.&#8220;I think he needs to be consistent,&#8221; RailRiders manager Al Pedrique said. &#8220;There have been games where he shows some flashes, shows good command with his pitches. One inning, for some reason, he starts leaving pitches up in the zone and he has a hard time putting hitters away. He&#8217;s got to really work on his command.&#8221;Featuring a fastball, curveball and changeup in his strong repertoire of pitches, Cessa began the season in the Yankees bullpen. He compiled a 1-0 record with a 3.95 ERA and seven strikeouts in six appearances over three different stints with New York, between shuffling back and forth between the big leagues and the RailRiders.But the Yankees want to see a slider from him, which they believe will make him more effective as a situational relief pitcher.&#8220;The fastball looks good, the changeup was good, too, I had good command,&#8221; Cessa said. &#8220;I just need a little more focus on my slider.&#8221;He&#8217;s shown he can throw it.Cessa entered Thursday with a 4-0 record and a 0.84 ERA during his previous four starts for the RailRiders.&#8220;Give him credit,&#8221; Pedrique said, &#8220;when he has side work, he&#8217;s working on his release point (with his slider). He does a good job in the bullpen. He&#8217;s going to have to figure it out and take it to the game.&#8221;The game began well for a RailRiders team that rode a bus back from a Wednesday night game in Charlotte and returned home from a seven-day road trip at 9 a.m. Thursday for a game that began at 5:05 p.m.&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to lie to you, it was tough,&#8221; Pedrique said.But the RailRiders bats showed a lot of life in the second inning, when Jake Cave doubled home one run and Jose Rosario added a two-run doublebefore he scored on a wild pitch to give Scranton/Wilkes-Barre a 4-0 lead.It didn&#8217;t last, though, as the RailRiders managed just four more hits after the second inning and Cessa struggled for the first time since his return from New York at the end of June.&#8220;A little battle tonight,&#8221; Cessa said. &#8220;A couple (bad) pitches. It&#8217;s part of the game.&#8221;Durham 8, RailRiders 4Durham`AB`R`H`BIVarona rf`5`1`1`1Franklin 2b`1`0`0`0Hager 2b`4`0`0`0Motter ss`4`1`1`2Arencibia c`5`0`2`0Goebbert 1b`5`1`1`0Shaffer dh`4`1`1`1Decker lf`3`2`1`0Robertson 3b`4`2`3`2Field cf`3`0`2`2Totals`38`8`12`8RailRiders`AB`R`H`BIWilliams dh`5`0`0`0Kozma ss`5`0`2`0Gamel cf`4`0`0`0Austin 1b`3`1`1`0Puello rf`2`1`0`0Cave lf`2`1`1`1Rosario 3b`3`1`1`2Diaz 2b`3`0`0`0Rodriguez c`4`0`1`0Totals`31`4`6`3Durham`003`202`010`&#8212;`8 RailRiders`040`000`000`&#8212;`42B &#8212; Goebbert (9), Varona (26), Arencibia (12), Decker (12); Cave (12), Rosario (4). HR &#8212; Motter (7), Shaffer (8), Robertson (4).Durham`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SOMarks, W (4-9)`5`4`4`4`4`0Markel, H (3)`1`0`0`0`1`3Eveland, H (3)`1.2`1`0`0`0`2Geltz`0.1`0`0`0`1`0Sturdevant`1`1`0`0`0`0RailRiders`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SOCessa, L (4-2)`6`8`7`5`2`3Holder`2`3`1`1`0`2Yates`1`1`0`0`0`1<style>
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<div class="neCaption">RailRiders third baseman Jose Rosario waits for the throw to third base as Bulls base runner Jaff Decker reaches base safely in the fourth inning of Thursday&#8217;s baseball game at PNC Field. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_railridersbulls01-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>RailRiders third baseman Jose Rosario waits for the throw to third base as Bulls base runner Jaff Decker reaches base safely in the fourth inning of Thursday&#8217;s baseball game at PNC Field. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_railridersbulls02-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Railriders pitcher Luis Cessa deals to the plate in Thursday&#8217;s game against the Durham Bulls at PNC Field. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_railridersbulls02-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Railriders pitcher Luis Cessa deals to the plate in Thursday&#8217;s game against the Durham Bulls at PNC Field. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>IF YOU GOFridayDurham at RailRiders, 7:05 p.m.</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</shirttailMeta></div>

RailRiders return to PNC Field, but fall to Durham 8-4