Cogan Sparkles Again as RailCats Sweep Flyers With 6-2 Win
August 6, 2009 - Northern League (NL)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release
GARY, Ind. - Tony Cogan allowed only three hits over eight shutout innings as the Gary SouthShore RailCats extended a franchise record with their 11th consecutive home win, dusting the Schaumburg Flyers 6-2 Thursday night in front of 5,294 fans at U. S. Steel Yard to complete a four-game sweep.
Cogan (7-6) improved to 3-0 against Schaumburg this year and won for the fourth time in his last six starts. The veteran southpaw has given up just 12 hits and one unearned run in 24.0 innings against the Flyers this year after eight more brilliant innings Thursday. Cogan did walk four and hit a man, but he did not allow a runner to third base until the eighth inning and was never seriously challenged. Antoan Richardson singled in the third, Richard Mercado singled in the fourth and Felix Jose grabbed a sixth inning single but that would be all the offense against the reigning Northern League Pitcher of the Month.
The RailCats got all the offense they needed by jumping all over Flyers starter Carmen Pignatiello (6-8) early, beginning when Mike Rohde doubled to lead off the second inning. Cristian Guerrero came up next and for the second time this year he took Pignatiello deep to left, with his sixth home run of the year giving the âCats a 2-0 lead. The next three hitters would all also reach, and Chris Carrara walked with the bases loaded to grab another run.
In the fourth, Jeff Beachum and Brett Wallace led off the inning with back-to-back singles before Rob Marconi doubled to the gap in right-center, scoring both runners. Beachum collected an RBI single of his own in the fifth, part of the first career four-hit game by the 25-year-old Tennessean. Beachum singled in the second, fourth and fifth before doubling with two outs in the seventh.
Pignatiello lost for the third time against the RailCats this year, lasting just 4.2 innings and giving up all six runs on nine hits. Kris Jiggits replaced Pignatiello in the fifth and kept the âCats in check, striking out four over 3.1 scoreless innings to close the game.
Jeff Dunbar and Lyndon Poole hit solo home runs in the ninth against Eddie De la Cruz to get the Flyers on the board. The runs were the first allowed by the âCats bullpen in 18.0 innings.
Eight different RailCats had hits - led by Beachum - but Carrara was the only other âCat with more than one, going 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot. The RailCats also hit a season-high five doubles, getting one each from Beachum, Carrara, Marconi, Rohde and Jay Pecci.
The RailCats (44-30) move on to Kansas City to start a five-game series against the T-Bones (33-41) Friday night at 7:05 p.m. Derell McCall (3-0, 2.76 ERA) will start the opener for the RailCats against Kansas City's Dustin Bolton (4-4, 4.95 ERA). That game will be broadcast live on 89.FM, The Lakeshore, and online at www.railcatsbaseball.com.
Notes: The RailCats have won seven straight games against the Flyers and 13 straight games at U. S. Steel Yard against Schaumburg ... the 11 straight home wins are now two longer than the previous club record (set in 2007) ... Rohde's second inning double extended his on-base streak to 11 games ... over the last two seasons, the RailCats are 34-5 against the Flyers ... the âCats are a season-high 14 games over .500 ... the crowd Thursday night was the fifht
More Info: The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a Professional Minor League Baseball Team serving Northwest Indiana and Chicago's south suburbs. The RailCats won the Northern League championship in 2005 and 2007 and for each of the last five years, they have been chosen "Best Local Spectator Sport" by Northwest Indiana Business Quarterly. Their 96 game schedule includes 48 home games at beautiful U. S. Steel Yard, an award-winning 6,000 seat state-of-the-art facility located next to the Indiana Toll Road (I-90) with easy access to I-65.
Northern League Stories from August 6, 2009
- Eggleston, T-Bones Salvage Split in Grand Fashion - Kansas City Monarchs
- 'Hawks Fall to T-Bones - Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
- Cogan Sparkles Again as RailCats Sweep Flyers With 6-2 Win - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- Goldeyes Pound JackHammers - Joliet JackHammers
- Flyers Swept Again at Steel Yard - Schaumburg Flyers
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