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Vigil goers remember slain Wilkes-Barre watchdog Donnie Bachman

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Rendon clubs three homers, 10 RBI as Nationals set scoring mark

<p>MOOSIC &#8211; Call this one destiny.</p><p>The baseball Gods weren&#8217;t going to rob Dustin Fowler of it. And those still in attendance after a three-plus hour marathon on a chilly Sunday got to see some history at PNC Field.</p><p>After a rocket off Fowler&#8217;s bat just missed clearing the right-field wall in the bottom of the ninth, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre center fielder wasn&#8217;t denied the cycle two innings later. He destroyed a pitch from Indianapolis closer Angel Sanchez deep into the Budweiser Railhouse in right field as the RailRiders completed the 7-6 come-from-behind extra-inning victory to close out the six-game homestand.</p><p>&#8220;Off the bat, I did think I had it in the ninth,&#8221; Fowler said. &#8220;It happened to stay in, but we battled, and thankfully, we were able to get that one run to keep the game alive. Luckily, it came back around to me and I was able to do it. Everyone did a great job battling.&#8221;</p><p>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre took 2 of 3 from Indy in the homestand, and also closed out the season series with the Indians on a positive, winning 4 of 6.</p><p>But make no mistake about it. This afternoon belonged to Fowler, the No. 10-ranked Yankees prospect according to Baseball America.</p><p>His cycle is the first since Ramon Flores accomplished the feat on Opening Night of the 2015 season. His five hits also tied a franchise record as he finished with a homer, triple, two doubles and a single.</p><p>&#8220;You just don&#8217;t know if you will get another chance,&#8221; Fowler said. &#8220;A lot of times, games like this go so many different ways. It can go a long time, or it can be over quickly. Getting that first hit always relaxes you and gets you in rhythm. As the day kept going, the ball kept getting bigger and bigger. You never think you will have a day like this. I&#8217;m just thankful that I did.&#8221;</p><p>After Ernesto Frieri battled out of a two-on, two-out jam in the visitor&#8217;s half of the 11th, everyone kind of had that feeling &#8211; especially after Fowler just missed that cycle-clinching homer by mere inches in the ninth.</p><p>So did Sanchez. His first two pitches in the at-bat weren&#8217;t near the strike zone. The third, though, was a waist-high fastball, and it quickly entered the top deck of the Railhouse in right field.</p><p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t think his ball in the ninth was going to go out because I was watching the right fielder. Once he hit it, I thought it may hit the wall but I didn&#8217;t think he had enough,&#8221; RailRider manager Al Pedrique said. &#8220;In the 11th, I just wanted him to get on base. I never thought he was going to hit a home run. In those situations, you just want to get someone on base and go from there. But I&#8217;ll take the home run.&#8221;</p><p>While it was destiny for Fowler, it appeared to be bad luck for the RailRiders (12-10).</p><p>The locals spent what felt like an eternity trailing by a single run. And it appeared it wouldn&#8217;t cross home, either</p><p>The RailRiders left six runners on base, four in scoring position between the fifth and eighth innings.</p><p>That all changed in the ninth.</p><p>A one-out walk to Tyler Wade and Fowler&#8217;s monstrous double put the tying and winning runs in scoring position. Indianapolis (7-15) elected to intentionally walk Frazier, who crushed a homer to left in the third, and face Ji-Man Choi. But a wild pitch during his at-bat allowed Wade to score the tying run.</p><p>&#8220;I said it earlier that I feel that these kids are starting to feel comfortable,&#8221; Pedrique said. &#8220;They are starting to believe that they belong here. This team is starting to come together. You could just see that everyone wanted to get this win real bad.&#8221;</p><p>Lost in Fowler&#8217;s performance is the workman-like effort of the RailRiders&#8217; bullpen.</p><p>Picking up starter Caleb Smith &#8211; who struggled through his 3 1-3 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits &#8211; the bullpen surrendered just four hits for the remainder, striking out 10 and walking just three.</p><p>Taking advantage of an off-day on Monday, Pedrique jogged five relief hurlers to the mound as Frieri picked up his first victory of 2017, pitching in the 10th and 11th.</p><p>The gem of the relief efforts came from Tyler Webb, who worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the fourth with the RailRiders already down two runs.</p><p>&#8220;That was great to see,&#8221; Pedrique said. &#8220;Smitty struggled early in the game, and the bullpen kept us in the game and gave us the opportunity to win it. That&#8217;s what you want. You want to see them come through in those situations.&#8221;</p><p>The top four batters in the RailRiders&#8217; order combined for eight of the team&#8217;s 12 hits and four of the five RBI. Sanchez picked up the blown save and the loss for the Indians.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>RailRiders 7, Indianapolis 6, 11 innings</strong></p><p><strong>Indianapolis `AB`R`H`BI</strong></p><p>Bostick rf `5`0`2`0</p><p>Moroff 2b `5`0`2`1</p><p>Wood 3b `6`0`1`0</p><p>Rogers 1b `4`1`0`0</p><p>Meadows dh `5`1`1`0</p><p>Stallings c `4`2`2`1</p><p>Feliz ss `5`1`1`3</p><p>Perez cf `5`1`1`1</p><p>Maffei lf `4`0`2`0</p><p><strong>Totals `43`6`12`6</strong></p><p><strong>RailRiders `AB`R`H`BI</strong></p><p>Wade lf `5`2`0`0</p><p>Fowler cf `6`2`5`2</p><p>Frazier rf `2`2`1`1</p><p>Choi 1b `4`1`2`1</p><p>Refsnyder 2b `5`0`1`0</p><p>Williams dh `5`0`1`0</p><p>Culver ss `5`0`1`0</p><p>Fleming 3b `5`0`0`0</p><p>Castillo c `3`0`1`0</p><p>Payton ph `1`0`0`0</p><p>Rodriguez c `1`0`0`0</p><p><strong>Totals `42`7`12`5</strong></p><p><strong>Indianapolis `030 `300 `000 `00 &#8211; 6</strong></p><p><strong>RailRiders `301 `010 `001 `01 &#8211; 7</strong></p><p><strong>E:</strong> Wood (5), Feliz (1). <strong>DP:</strong> Indianapolis 1, Railriders 1. LOB: Indianapolis 9, RailRiders 9. <strong>2B:</strong> Stallings (1), Bostick (7), Fowler 2 (5), Castillo (1). <strong>3B:</strong> Fowler (3). <strong>HR:</strong> Feliz (1), Frazier (3), Fowler (4). <strong>SB:</strong> Williams (2). CS: Fowler (3).</p><p><strong>Indianapolis `IP `H`R`ER`BB`SO</strong></p><p>Hutchison `5.2`8`5`3`2`2</p><p>Runzler`2.1`2`0`0`0`2</p><p>Sanchez (L, 0-2) `2.1`2`2`2`3`3</p><p><strong>RailRiders `IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO</strong></p><p>Smith `3.1`8`6`6`2`1</p><p>Webb `2.2`1`0`0`0`2</p><p>Gallegos `1`0`0`0`0`1</p><p>Shreve `1`0`0`0`0`2</p><p>Heller `1.2`2`0`0`1`2</p><p>Frieri (W, 1-0) `1.1`1`0`0`2`3</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders&#8217; Dustin Fowler watches his drive to right field for a triple ahead of Indianapolis catcher Jacob Stallings at PNC Field in Moosic on Sunday afternoon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_rails-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders&#8217; Dustin Fowler watches his drive to right field for a triple ahead of Indianapolis catcher Jacob Stallings at PNC Field in Moosic on Sunday afternoon. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_rails-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">RailRiders&#8217; Ji-Man Choi, right, waves after reaching third base as manager Al Pedrique looks on in a game against Indianapolis on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_rails-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>RailRiders&#8217; Ji-Man Choi, right, waves after reaching third base as manager Al Pedrique looks on in a game against Indianapolis on Sunday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_rails-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">RailRiders starting pitcher Caleb Smith throws to first baseman Ji-Man Choi in a game against Indianapolis at PNC Field in Moosic on Sunday afternoon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_rails-3.jpg</photo2><caption2>RailRiders starting pitcher Caleb Smith throws to first baseman Ji-Man Choi in a game against Indianapolis at PNC Field in Moosic on Sunday afternoon. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_rails-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">RailRiders&#8217; Wilkin Castillo catches a high pitch in a game against Indianapolis Sunday afternoon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_rails-4.jpg</photo3><caption3>RailRiders&#8217; Wilkin Castillo catches a high pitch in a game against Indianapolis Sunday afternoon. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_rails-5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">RailRiders&#8217; Dustin Fowler watches his triple to right field as he rounds first base against Indianapolis on Sunday. Fowler would later hit a walk-off home run in the 11th inning to complete his cycle and win it for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_rails-5.jpg</photo4><caption4>RailRiders&#8217; Dustin Fowler watches his triple to right field as he rounds first base against Indianapolis on Sunday. Fowler would later hit a walk-off home run in the 11th inning to complete his cycle and win it for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Fox</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLSports</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Fowler hits for the cycle while lifting RailRiders to victory