PawSox swept out of playoffs

(WPRI) - The magical ride that the Pawtucket Red Sox brought their fans on since April ended Saturday night with a 3-1 loss to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in Game 3 of the I.L. semi-finals.

Lehigh Valley took Game 1 and Game 2 in Allentown, PA before completing the sweep with a 3-1 victory in Game 3 at McCoy Stadium.

Alex Wilson allowed just three hits in seven innings but it resulted in three runs for Lehigh Valley. Wilson recorded his first loss in five starts as a member of the PawSox despite keeping the PawSox within striking-distance all season long.

Pawtucket’s offense struggled to score runs the entire series, and that trend continued Saturday night. The lone run came with one out in the ninth inning—and it required a collision at the plate by Hector Luna to jar the ball loose from Lehigh’s catcher Erik Kratz to make that happen. Though it was the hustle on that play by Luna which epitomized Pawtucket’s effort throughout the playoffs and the 142-game regular season. Pawtucket kept fighting until the final out, but wound up coming up just short against the ‘Pigs.

Despite being swept in the semi-finals of the Governor’s Cup Playoffs, the Pawtucket Red Sox close out 2011 with the organization’s first playoff appearance since 2008 and their first I.L. North Division title since 2003.

The Pawtucket Red Sox would like to thank the fans who made this run to the Governor’s Cup semi-finals one of the most successful seasons in recent PawSox history. We look forward to seeing everyone back at McCoy Stadium in 2012 as the PawSox look to make another run at a postseason berth.