Cats bounce Reading; Pigs advance

I have been out of town for my family reunion, but I can catch up quickly.

Friday night in Manchester, led by 3 hits each by Tuffy Gosewisch and Derrick Mitchell, Reading evened their series at a game apiece, with an 11-2 beating of the Fisher Cats. Tuffy had 2 doubles and an RBI, while Mitchell had a single, double, and triple and drove in 5. The scene then shifted to Reading, where New Hampshire won 1-0 on Saturday and eliminated the R-Phils Sunday, 4-2.

On Saturday, Anthony Gose had a walks and stolen base, Kevin Howard had a hit, Travis d'Arnaud had 2 hits and Bobby Korecky closed it out for the Fisher Cats, as the Phillies wasted a fine effort by Austin Hyatt. Hyatt allowed just 1 run on only 3 hits, NO walks and struck out 9, and was a victim of nonsupport, Reading getting just 3 single in the game. Gosewisch homered on Sunday, and hit .357 for the R-Phils in the series, but New Hampshire ended their season, with Korecky saving all 3 of their wins. It was a good year in Reading, but it is the former Phils who will play for the Eastern League title, taking on the Richmond.

The IronPigs won in a walk-off Friday night in Allentown, 3-2 as Freddy Galvis singled and scored the winning run on a Brandon Moss single. Mike Zaguski threw 1.1 scoreless innings, and Justin DeFratus was the winning pitcher, striking out 5 of the 6 hitters he faced. The series then moved to Pawtucket, where Brian Bass threw a complete game 5-hitter, giving up just an UNearned run in the bottom of the 9th of the series clinching 3-1 win. The victory puts Lehigh Valley in their first ever International League Championship series, where they will take on Columbus.

Out west, after dropping the first 2 games of their series in Reno, the Sacramento River Cats won 3 in a row at home to advance to the PCL finals again. The Cats won 5-2 on Friday, 8-2 on Saturday and wrapped it up with a 13-2 laugher Sunday. Adrian Cardenas had 2 hits and a walk, driving in 3 runs in the clincher. Sacramento will play in their 4th Pacific Coast League title series in the last 5 years, taking on Omaha for the championship.