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Geisinger medical students visit WVCA

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Gift of Sight doctors recognized at conference

<p>MOOSIC &#8212; His friends back home call him DJ Ernasty.</p><p>When Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders closer Ernesto Frieri took the 2016 campaign off so he could go back to his home nation of Colombia and work on his pitching, he quickly found he would need to do something else to keep his mind busy.</p><p>As a lover of music, Frieri turned to DJing.</p><p>&#8220;I was like, &#8216;What am I doing here?&#8217; I enjoyed my family for the first three months. It was fun, but after that I was like, &#8216;Oh my God.&#8217; And then I was like, &#8216;What should I do?&#8217;&#8221; Frieri said. &#8220;I started fishing. I started doing that and then was like, &#8216;OK, let&#8217;s start taking DJ classes,&#8217; and it was fun.&#8221;</p><p>He went from Frieri the pitcher to DJ Ernasty. His teacher was Steven King, a professional DJ in Colombia.</p><p>Frieri said he plans to get some turntables for the RailRiders&#8217; clubhouse in the near future.</p><p>&#8220;It took like two months to learn,&#8221; the reliever said. &#8220;You&#8217;ll see me later on with a DJ controller and we&#8217;re going to have some fun over here.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Wade adapting well</strong></p><p>Not only has Tyler Wade been a solid shortstop and second baseman this season, committing just one error and having turned four double plays in his first six games, the RailRiders utility man has arguably been the team&#8217;s strongest bat so far.</p><p>Heading into Saturday&#8217;s game against the Buffalo Bisons, the 22-year-old ranks first in batting average (.481) and hits (13), second in on-base percentage (.500) and is in a tie for first in runs scored with Clint Frazier (5).</p><p>&#8220;I just try to stick with the same approach wherever I&#8217;m at,&#8221; said Wade about adapting in his first season of Triple-A. &#8220;Baseball is baseball and I just feel like you have to stick with your approach.&#8221;</p><p>As the team&#8217;s leadoff hitter, Wade has been a demon on the basepaths. He has a team-high three stolen bases and turned a infield single into three bases after the throw to first missed its target.</p><p>&#8220;Be aggressive. Try to put pressure on the basepaths,&#8221; Wade said of his mentality. &#8220;I think good things can happen when you get running and so far it&#8217;s paid off.&#8221;</p><p>While he believes Wade is still a ways off from reaching his full potential, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders manager Al Pedrique has been more than pleased with the 22-year-old&#8217;s performance.</p><p>&#8220;He has a routine, which every player needs in order to be successful in this game,&#8221; Pedrique said. &#8220;One thing that we need to make sure he slows down a little bit. He&#8217;s a little overaggressive at times in all the areas of the game, but he&#8217;s shown signs that he&#8217;s slowing the game down. He has a lot of confidence in himself and the more he goes out there and plays the game, he&#8217;s going to be fine.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Bullpen doing their job</strong></p><p>With only one RailRiders starter making it out of the fifth inning during the recent four-game series against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the bullpen was often asked to pull more than its own weight. And time and time they came through.</p><p>Pitching 14.2 innings over four games, RailRiders relievers accumulated an 1.27 ERA on a pair of earned runs, seven hits and two walks. The bullpen arms collected 20 strikeouts for 12.70 strikeouts per nine innings average as well.</p><p>&#8220;It helps us to have the experience that we have in the bullpen,&#8221; Pedrique said. &#8220;As a manager, as a coaching staff, we&#8217;re happy. We know in close games, late in the game, that those guys are going to help us out.&#8221;</p><p>Series highlights for the relievers came when Tyler Webb entered a high-pressure situation, with the RailRiders leading 7-6 in the fifth inning, and pitched 3.2 strong frames to closes the door. Joe Mantiply and Chasen Shreve combined for four innings of one-hit baseball and allowed the RailRiders to overcome a 1-0 deficit and win the game in the bottom of the ninth inning.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders shortstop Tyler Wade has had an impressive season at the plate thus far. Fred Adams file photo | For Times Leader </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_opener8_faa2017414164930845.jpg</photo0><caption0>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders shortstop Tyler Wade has had an impressive season at the plate thus far. Fred Adams file photo | For Times Leader </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL-04042017-SWB-rail-riders-52017414164714652.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders closer Ernesto Frieri spent time as a disk jockey in 2016 when he was back home in Colombia reworking his pitching game. CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK | FOR TIMES LEADER</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL-04042017-SWB-rail-riders-52017414164714652.jpg</photo1><caption1>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders closer Ernesto Frieri spent time as a disk jockey in 2016 when he was back home in Colombia reworking his pitching game. CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK | FOR TIMES LEADER</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By DJ Eberle</p><p>djeberle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach DJ Eberle at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @ByDJEberle</p></shirttailMeta></div>

SWB RailRiders Notebook: Ernesto Frieri became a DJ during his year off