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The RailRiders led the International League in several offensive and pitching categories throughout the regular season.

That combination helped Scranton/Wilkes-Barre defeat rival Lehigh Valley 7-0 on Thursday at Coca-Cola Park to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five Governors’ Cup semifinal series.

SWB pounded out 11 hits, six different players scored a run, and got seven stellar shutout innings from veteran left-hander Phil Coke. The series shifts to PNC Field in Moosic on Friday night with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre looking to wrap up its first postseason series win in team history, and the first for the franchise since the SWB Yankees won a semifinal playoff series against Gwinnett in 2009.

Donovan Solano was the big bat for the RailRiders on Thursday going 3 for 4 with a pair of RBI.

After not scoring until the eighth inning in Game 1 of the series, the RailRiders got right to it early on Thursday.

SWB got on the board in the top of the first inning as the first three batters reached base, including Solano who doubled in Mason Williams.

Cleanup hitter Chris Parmelee followed with a sacrifice fly bringing home Clint Frazier for a 2-0 lead.

The IronPigs, who have been shutout in the first two games, had a big chance in the bottom of the first when Taylor Featherston tripled to lead off the game. But Phil Coke recorded a pair of groundouts sandwiched around a strikeout to strand the runner on third. Brock Stassi doubled with two outs in the second, but Coke got out of that as well.

In the third inning, Jesmuel Valentin started a rally with a leadoff double. Yet again, Coke danced around the trouble stranding Valentin on second. Lehigh Valley started the game with no hits in seven at bats with runners in scoring position and finished 0 for 9 on the night.

That appeared to be enough to harm the IronPigs’ chances and give the RailRiders momentum.

Consecutive two-out, run-scoring singles by Pete Kozma and Williams in the fourth inning extended SWB’s lead to 4-0.

Kyle Higashioka’s two-run double in the fifth gave SWB a 6-0 advantage, while Solano notched a run-scoring single in the sixth.

Coke retired the last 13 batters he faced and gave up just three hits in the victory. Crestwood grad Matt Wotherspoon went one inning.

Probable pitchers for Friday’s game, which starts at 6:35 p.m., will be Brady Lail (7-6, 5.07) for the RailRiders versus IronPigs’ Phil Klein (5-1, 1.52).

Governors’ Cup Semifinals

RailRiders 7, IronPigs 0

(RailRiders lead best-of-5 series 2-0)

RailRiders `AB`R`H`BI

Williams cf`5`1`2`1

Frazier lf` 4`2`1`0

Solano 3b`5`1`3`2

Parmelee 1b`4`0`1`1

Puello dh`4`1`0`0

Higashioka c`4`0`1`2

Cave rf`4`1`2`0

Culver 2b`2`1`0`0

Kozma ss`4`0`1`1

Totals`36`7`11`7

IronPigs`AB`R`H`BI

Featherston 3b`4`0`1`0

Crawford ss`4`0`0`0

Williams rf`2`0`1`0

Knapp c`4`0`0`0

Perkins cf`3`0`0`0

Asche lf`3`0`0`0

Stassi 1b` 3`0`1`0

Hunter dh`3`0`0`0

Valentin 2b` 3`0`1`0

Totals`31`0`4`0

RailRiders`200`221`000`—`7

IronPigs`000`000`000` — `0

LOB: RailRiders 6; IronPigs 5. DP: RailRiders 0, IronPigs 0. 2B: Solano 2 (2), Cave (1), Higashioka (1), Frazier (1), Stassi (1), Valentin (1), Williams (1). 3B: Featherston (1). SAC: Culver. SF: Parmelee.

RailRiders `IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO

Coke (W, 1-0) ` 7.0`3`0`0`0`7

Wotherspoon `1.0`0`0`0`0`0

Barbato`1.0`1`0`0`0`0

IronPigs`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO

Vasquez (L, 0-1) `4.0`6`4`4`2`2

Russell`2.0`5`3`3`0`1

Infante`2.0`0`0`0`0`3

Hinojosa`1.0`0`0`0`0`3

HBP: Williams (by Coke)

Umpires: HP: Joey Amaral. 1B: Max Guyll. 2B: Jeremy Riggs. 3B: Ben May.

T: 2:42. Att: 4,002

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_SWB-logo2.jpg.optimal.jpg

By Dave Rosengrant

For Times Leader

Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @tlsports.