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San Francisco 46ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, teammate kneel during national anthem

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Lottery Numbers for Thursday, Sept. 1

Lehigh Valley was going to try to make the race interesting in the final month. The RailRiders wouldn&#8217;t let them do it.Scranton/Wilkes-Barre went 19-11 in August and then opened September with a convincing 6-1 win in Buffalo to clinch the International League North Division championship on Thursday. The RailRiders won the title outright thanks to Lehigh Valley&#8217;s loss to Rochester.It&#8217;s the second straight division crown for the RailRiders and the 11th in the history of the franchise. They will have home field advantage when the Governors&#8217; Cup playoffs begin next week.Scranton/Wilkes-Barre will host Game 3 of the best-of-five semifinals on Sept. 9 at 6:35 p.m. and would also host Game 4 (Sept. 10) and Game 5 (Sept. 11), if necessary.At 87-52, the RailRiders are just one win shy of matching their best win total since becoming a Yankees affiliate. The 2002 Red Barons were the last squad to win 90 games.Pitching has been a strength for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre all season and Thursday night was no exception. Phil Coke went six innings, allowing one run on seven hits to record a quality start and pick up the win.Tyler Webb and Johnny Barbato closed out the final three frames, running the bullpen&#8217;s scoreless streak to 20 innings and wrap up the division.At the plate, the RailRiders broke out for four runs in the top of second to take control. Chris Parmelee hit a solo home run and then brought home three on five straight hits &#8212; Cito Culver, Mason Williams (3 for 5) and Cesar Puello each picked up an RBI single.Rob Refsnyder and Donovan Solano each drove in a run in the eighth to secure the RailRiders&#8217; ninth straight win in Buffalo.Scranton/Wilkes-Barre alum Jesus Montero drove in the lone run for the Bisons.The RailRiders return home to close out the regular season with four straight home games &#8212; two against Buffalo on Friday and Saturday and two against Syracuse on Sunday and Monday.RailRiders 6, Buffalo 1RailRiders`AB`R`H`BIWilliams cf`5`1`3`1Puello rf`3`1`1`1Refsnyder 3b`5`0`1`1Parmelee 1b`4`1`1`1Solano 2b`4`0`1`1Higashioka dh`5`0`1`0Cave lf`4`1`1`0Culver ss`4`1`2`1Rodriguez c`4`1`1`0Totals`38`6`12`6Buffalo`AB`R`H`BIBerry cf`4`1`0`0Ceciliani rf`5`0`0`0Dominguez 3b`4`0`2`0Montero dh`4`0`3`1Colabello 1b`4`0`0`0Brown lf`4`0`1`0Burns 2b`4`0`0`0Kratz c`3`0`0`0Mier ss`3`0`1`0Totals`35`1`7`1RailRiders`040`000`020`&#8212;`6Buffalo`001`000`000`&#8212;`12B &#8212; Cave (18), Rodriguez (7), Williams (8). HR &#8212; Parmelee (10).RailRiders`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SOCoke, W (5-3)`6`7`1`1`2`6Webb, H (6)`2`0`0`0`0`1Barbato`1`0`0`0`1`2Buffalo`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SOBerken, L (0-2)`5.1`8`4`4`3`4Schultz`2.1`2`2`2`2`0Antolin`1.1`2`0`0`2`2<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>Times Leader</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLsports</shirttailMeta></div>

RailRiders clinch IL North Division championship