On Friday night at Truist Field, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs took on the Charlotte Knights in game four of a six-game series. The IronPigs welcomed back Will Toffey, Nick Duron, and Rafael Marchan to the lineup.
Michael Plassmeyer (1-0, 2.38 ERA) started the game for the IronPigs, while on the mound for the Knights was Lincoln Henzman (2-1, 4.85 ERA).
At the top of the second inning, IronPigs’ catcher Rafael Marchan reached first base on a fielding error by Knights’ second baseman Lenyn Sosa with one out for center fielder Chris Sharpe. Sharpe doubled on a line drive to left field, scoring Marchan for a 1-0 lead.
During Drew Maggi’s at-bat, Knights pitcher Lincoln Henzman threw a wild pitch that went off the catcher Yasmani Grandal’s right knee pad and rolled towards the dugout. Chris Sharpe tried to score from second base but got tagged out. While I appreciate Sharpe’s hustle, he should’ve just taken third base. Drew Maggi struck out swinging, ending the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Yoan Aybar was the new Knights pitcher. IronPigs’ second baseman Ali Castillo flied out, followed by Aybar walking Nick Maton. Then, Aybar got another fly-out from Will Toffey, bringing up Dustin Peterson. During Peterson’s plate appearance, Nick Maton stole second base, then went to third base on a balk call on Aybar. Peterson singled to center field, scoring Maton for a 2-0 lead. The inning would end on a Josh Ockimey forceout to second base.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the fourth inning, the Knights cut the IronPigs lead 2-1 on a Yasmani Grandal solo home run into the seats at left field. IronPigs pitcher Michael Plassmeyer got the next three outs to end the inning.
IronPigs’ designated hitter Drew Maggi started the top of the fifth inning by reaching first base on a fielding error by shortstop Yolbert Sanchez. After Ali Castillo struck out, Knights pitcher Kade McClure walked Nick Maton, and up next was Will Toffey. On a 2-2 count, Toffey doubled over Mark Payton’s head at left field, scoring Maggi for a 3-1 lead.
Then, IronPigs’ right fielder Dustin Peterson hit a two-run single to left field, extending Lehigh Valley’s lead 5-1. Shortly after that, Kade McClure was replaced by Hunter Schryver. Schryver struck out Josh Ockimey and got Jorge Bonifacio to line out to first base for the final out of the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Braeden Ogle replaced Michael Plassmeyer. Plassmeyer went five innings, allowing four hits, one run, no walks, and four strikeouts in 81 pitches. Ogle got Yasmani Grandal to pop out, Adam Haseley to ground out, and a fly out from Lenyn Sosa to retire the side.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Ryan Sherriff was the new IronPigs pitcher. Braeden Ogle went one inning with no hits, no runs, no walks, and no strikeouts on 15 pitches. After striking out Yolbert Sanchez, Sherriff walked Tyler Neslony, got Blake Rutherford to line out to left field, and walked Ryder Jones with Zach Remillard coming to the plate.
Remillard singled on a line drive to right field, scoring a run that made it 5-2. However, Remillard tried to reach second base, and Nick Maton tagged him, which ended the inning. He got in the face of the umpire and was ejected from the game.
IronPigs’ left fielder Jorge Bonifacio flied out to start the top of the eighth inning. Then, Knights pitcher Anderson Severino walked Rafael Marchan, followed by a Chris Sharpe double for Drew Maggi. Unfortunately, Drew Maggi struck out, and up next was Ali Castillo. Castillo singled on a ground ball to left field, scoring two runs for a 7-2 lead. Finally, Nick Maton popped out that ended the inning.
Jace Fry was the new IronPigs pitcher in the bottom of the eighth inning. Ryan Sherriff went one inning, allowing one hit, one run, two walks, and one strikeout. Fry gave up a single to Mark Payton, then walked Yasmani Grandal and hit Adam Haseley, loading the bases for second baseman Lenyn Sosa. Sosa grounded out towards Nick Maton, who picked up the ball and threw it over to Josh Ockimey for the out, but a run scored, 7-3. Fry got the last two outs to retire the side.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Nick Duron closed out the game for the IronPigs. He got Blake Rutherford to ground out, Ryder Jones to line out to first baseman Josh Ockimey, and another ground out from Xavier Fernandez that ended the game, and the IronPigs won 7-3. The IronPigs are now 47-41, while the Knights drop to 33-55.
The IronPigs have now won two straight to tie the series. Lehigh Valley had 12 hits in the game. The win went to IronPigs starter Michael Plassmeyer, his second of the year, and the loss went to Knights pitcher Lincoln Henzman (2.0 IP. 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 SO).
The series continues this afternoon at 12:05 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub, and pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
