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Happy birthday Nora Yurko!

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Veteran postal worker admits to embezzling $4,600 from Dallas Post Office

<p>MOOSIC &#8212; It was the bottom of the eighth inning in a 2-1 game against the Buffalo Bisons this past Friday.</p><p>It was a game that the RailRiders would go on to lose by that very same score, but something clicked for RailRiders utility man Rob Refsnyder.</p><p>The clean-up hitter was facing a 2-0 count against Bisons reliever Chad Girodo, and instead of continuing the at-bat, Bisons manager Bobby Meacham signaled to intentionally walk Refsnyder. While he was awarded first base and set up a first and third opportunity for Mark Payton, the bigger takeaway for the 26-year-old righty was that he finally felt comfortable at the plate again.</p><p>&#8220;The way I saw the ball out of his hand and the way I was taking the ball, it felt really good,&#8221; Refsnyder said. &#8220;The next day I hit a ground ball to second base. I let the ball get a little bit deeper.</p><p>&#8220;It sounds crazy, but I felt it right away. I was joking with you guys last night that I might go on a little stretch here. It&#8217;s a simple as that.&#8221;</p><p>A then-slumping Refsnyder was so confident that he even shouted in the clubhouse after the game that he might to go 20-for-the-next-40 at the the plate.</p><p>Maybe it was a little overzealous in Refsnyder&#8217;s part, but he&#8217;s come through for the RailRiders. He was batting .136 after Friday&#8217;s loss, but picked up steam over the weekend, going 4 for 8 with a double, triple, two runs scored and an RBI.</p><p>He&#8217;s now batting .233 heading into the RailRiders&#8217; three-game series against the Louisville Bats, which starts Tuesday in Louisville. Refsnyder&#8217;s been the RailRiders&#8217; best hitter of late.</p><p>&#8220;The first couple games I was lining stuff out in Buffalo and then I had a rough stretch here,&#8221; Refsnyder said. &#8220;I feel good. I feel like I might be able to go on a little stretch right now.&#8221;</p><p>For a player with big-league aspirations, it&#8217;s very easy to start pressing if things don&#8217;t get off to a smooth start.</p><p>It&#8217;s exactly what happened Refsnyder as he struggled at the start of the season before turning things around in this past weekend&#8217;s three-game series against the Bisons. Refsnyder started leaning into pitches in an effort to cover the outer half of the plate instead of being patient. RailRiders hitting coach P.J. Pilittere caught the change in Refsnyder&#8217;s approach, and its something the two spent extra time correcting this past week.</p><p><ins>&#8220;It&#8217;s out of aggression and I want to be able to do some things,&#8221; Refsnyder said. &#8220;Especially being at Triple-A, you want to go back to the big leagues. Being in your at-bats, you&#8217;re trying to do too much instead of just relaxing, using the whole field. P.J. caught that and we&#8217;ve been working on it.&#8221;</ins></p><p>According to Pilittere, a lot of Refsnyder&#8217;s problems came on the mental side. He&#8217;s a player that has consistently batted above .270, and often in the .300s, since reaching Triple-A in 2014. The slow start got in his head and was tough to shake.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of stuff that goes into it mentally when you ride that shuttle up and down, and obviously every guy that&#8217;s in our clubhouse wants to be in New York and not here,&#8221; Pilittere said. &#8220;It&#8217;s just trying to get him to not feel like he has to do more to get back, and just getting him the mindset of the guy you were throughout your career is plenty good enough to get there.&#8221;</p><p>Refsnyder will attempt to stay Scranton/Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s catalyst as the RailRiders look to win their second straight game Tuesday.</p><p><strong>Barbato traded to Pirates</strong></p><p>Former Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders pitcher Johnny Barbato was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates Monday for a player to be named later and cash considerations.</p><p>Barbato was designated for assignment by the New York Yankees last week in order to clear room on the 40-man roster for Jordan Montgomery. He started one game for the RailRiders this season after transitioning into a starter this spring, and lasted just four innings and allowed two runs on five hits and a pair of walks.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders utility man found his groove at the plate this weekend, just as the defending International League champions head to Kentucky to take on the Louisville Bats. Fred Adams file photo | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_RR-LV-4-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders utility man found his groove at the plate this weekend, just as the defending International League champions head to Kentucky to take on the Louisville Bats. Fred Adams file photo | For Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By DJ Eberle</p><p>djeberle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>UP NEXT</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at Louisville Bats</p><p><strong>When:</strong> 6:35 p.m., Today</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Louisville Slugger Field, Louisville, Ky.</p><p><strong>Probable Starters: </strong>RailRiders RHP Brady Lail (0-0, 10.38 ERA) vs. Louisville RHP Rob Wooten (1-0, 2.92)</p><p><strong>Listen:</strong> Fox Sports Radio THE GAME (1400 AM, 1440 AM, 160.7 FM)</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach DJ Eberle at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @ByDJEberle</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Rob Refsnyder heating up as SWB RailRiders travel to Louisville Bats