MOOSIC, PA (August 22, 2026) – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders fell to the Charlotte Knights 9-6 Saturday night at PNC Field. The RailRiders erased a four-run deficit, but the Knights' bats were too much for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to secure its third victory in a row against Charlotte.
The Knights opened the offense with a four-run second frame. Ryan Galanie tripled to lead off and scored on a Caden Connor base hit for a 1-0 edge. After Dru Baker reached on a fielder’s choice, Andy Weber hit a three-run homer to right to give Charlotte a 4-0 advantage.
The RailRiders sent all nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the third, scoring five runs to capture the lead. Yanquiel Fernández took Charlotte starter David Sandlin deep with a 437-foot bomb over the center field wall to close within three. Ernesto Martinez Jr. walked, Duke Ellis singled, and Anthony Volpe reached on an error before Jasson Domínguez singled home a pair to cut the deficit to one. With the bases loaded and no one out, J.C. Escarra’s two-run base knock gave SWB a 5-4 lead.
Charlotte’s Michael Turner tied the game at five in the top of the fifth with an RBI double that plated Mario Camilletti from first. RailRiders reliever Hayden Merda issued a bases-loaded walk, giving the Knights their second lead of the night, and Galanie’s RBI groundout extended the advantage. In the sixth, Rikuu Nishida tripled to score Weber and crossed on a Camilletti single to pull ahead 9-5.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the sixth but could not cut into the four-run Charlotte lead until the bottom of the ninth when Mitch Garver singled home Duke Ellis from second to cap the scoring.
Ellis stole his 45th base of the season in the bottom of the ninth to set Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s single-season franchise record set by Tommy Barrett in 1989.
Sandlin (2-0) pitched 6.0 innings, allowing seven hits on five runs, walking and striking out four. Eric Reyzelman (1-3) tossed 1.1 frames, allowing three runs on two hits in the loss. Carson Coleman got the start for SWB, surrendering three runs on three hits over 1.1 innings of work.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre concludes its series with Charlotte Sunday afternoon at PNC Field. Yankees #3 Prospect Elmer Rodriguez (8-3) will face Shane Smith (2-0). First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 PM. Tickets and promotional details are available at www.swbrailriders.com.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Record: 27-20, 63-57