The Lehigh Valley IronPigs used small ball and aggressive baserunning to take game two of their season opening six-game series against the Columbus Clippers. The offense continued to hit, while the bullpen gave the team five strong innings in relief of Michael Mariot, who made his first start as an IronPig.

RHE
Columbus122
Lehigh Valley671

OFFENSE: Lehigh Valley’s offense has been helped along by smart and aggressive baserunning. The Pigs led off the seventh by collecting two walks and Will Toffey followed with a fly ball to deep left. After the catch, both runners tagged and advanced a base. The lead runner, Drew Maggi, scored on a wild pitch, which moved Dalton Guthrie up to third where he could score on a groundball by Darick Hall… Lehigh Valley was 2-for-3 in stolen bases… Guthrie continues to shine both at the plate and in a relatively new spot on the diamond in center field. Guthrie is 5-for-9 (.556) through the first two games and has made three stellar defensive plays in center field where he has played only 19 games as a pro.

HR: none

PITCHING: Mariot gave Lehigh Valley four good innings in his first start of the season, allowing just two hits and one run – unearned – with one walk and two strikeouts… The bullpen threw five hitless innings in relief of Mariot, allowing just two walks while striking out three. Jeff Singer, Aaron Barrett, Braeden Ogle, and Joe Gatto needed just 66 pitches to get through their five innings of work.

WP: Singer (1-0), LP: Battenfield (0-1), SV: none

PIG NOTES: Lehigh Valley got their first double-play of the season in the top of the sixth inning after a leadoff walk to Josh Naylor… The weather for Thursday’s game does not look promising. Heavy rains are expected, leading to the prospect of the team’s first doubleheader of the season on Friday. Weather for Sunday also looks sketchy… Through their first two games, the IronPigs have yet to homer, but are hitting a comfortable .272 (17-for-62) in the first two games. They have also drawn 14 walks while striking out 16 times… Former IronPigs fan favorite Andy Tracy is back in town as the manager of the Columbus Clippers.

ON THE AGENDA: Right-hander Colton Eastman gets the start for the IronPigs and will be opposed by lefty Adam Scott for the Clippers.