NL Gary SouthShore Railcats

Broc Coffman Pitches RedHawks to 8-3 Win Over RailCats Friday

Published on July 4, 2008 under Northern League (NL)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release


FARGO, N.D. - Broc Coffman allowed only one earned run in eight solid innings and the Gary SouthShore RailCats fell 8-3 to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks Friday night at Newman Outdoor Field in a game the RailCats played under protest after two controversial calls led to a pair of ejections.

Coffman (4-3) did give up a pair of unearned runs and found his team trailing 3-1 after the third inning, but the RedHawks offense put up runs in six of the eight innings they hit in and pulled away late for the win. Every Fargo batter reached base in the game and eight had hits, with Jeff Eure collecting two, including the go-ahead two-run home run in the fourth.

The story of the game, however, involved RailCats manager Greg Tagert and a pair of calls that did not go the RailCats way. In the bottom of the fifth inning with Boomer Berry on first and one out, Carlo Cota lofted a fly ball to right where Cristian Guerrero stumbled to the ground before corralling the ball on what appeared to be a bounce. Cota was, however, initially called out, and the RailCats completed what they thought was an inning ending double play when Berry was gunned down between first and second.

After the RailCats went to the dugout, the umpires huddled and overturned the call, putting Cota on first and Berry on second. The decision resulted in a very lengthy pair of arguments from the RailCats manager and eventually the decision to play the remainder of the game under protest.

The RailCats trailed 5-3 into the sixth inning and appeared to have a great chance to tie the score when controversy struck again. With the bases loaded and no one out, Eric Blakeley hit a line drive to third base that Eure caught and then dove to the base to try and double off Jay Pecci, who was called out. Pecci argued vociferously and was ejected, followed shortly thereafter by Tagert.

The RailCats scored the game's first run in the top of the first when Steve Haake ripped a long double off the wall in right to score Pecci - who had reached on an error - from first. After Carlo Cota homered in the bottom of the first to tie the game, Haake capped a two-run RailCats third inning with his second two-out, run-scoring hit of the night.

Drew Dickinson (3-3) lasted only 3.1 innings for the RailCats, allowing four runs on seven hits. Relievers Brian Halford and Kyle Kobernus each pitched at least two innings, but each also allowed at least one run as the RedHawks scored two runs in the seventh and another in the eighth to secure the final margin.

The RailCats (25-20) and RedHawks (23-22) will continue their three-game series Saturday at 6 p.m. at Newman Outdoor Field. Billy Phillips (2-4, 5.55 ERA) will start for the RailCats against Fargo's Garry Bakker (1-2, 2.08). That game, as always, can be heard live on WEFM, 95.9 FM, and online at www.railcatsbaseball.com.

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Northern League Stories from July 4, 2008


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