Esquer, RailCats Sweep Winnipeg With 16-4 Rout
Published on July 12, 2009 under Northern League (NL)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release
WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Anthony Esquer went 5-for-6 and hit his first professional home run as the Gary SouthShore RailCats set a litany of single-game offensive records, pounding the Winnipeg Goldeyes 16-4 Sunday afternoon at Canwest Park to sweep the three-game series.
The RailCats matched franchise records for runs scored (16) and margin of victory (12), and established a new record with 22 hits. The âCats scored 10 of their runs over the last two innings, including eight runs on nine hits in the ninth, the second day in a row the RailCats had a big ninth inning (the âCats scored seven times Saturday). All nine RailCats had hits in the game for the second day in a row and eight of the nine hitters drove in runs.
The victory was the âCats fifth in a row, all against the league-leading Goldeyes, who have seen their lead over the RailCats atop the Northern League standings shrink to just three games, the closest the RailCats have been since May 27. The sweep was the first suffered by the Goldeyes all season and the RailCats first road sweep of the year.
Esquer also made both team and personal history Sunday, becoming only the eighth RailCat to record five hits in a game, and the first catcher. Eric Blakeley was the last to have a five-hit day, doing so August 28 against Schaumburg. No player in RailCats history has ever had a six-hit game. Esquer finished with four RBI and three runs scored.
Esquer started his day with a single and run scored in the third off Bear Bay (5-2), who lost for the first time this season in four starts against the RailCats. Then in the fourth, Esquer took Bay deep for a two-run home run, the first of his four-year professional career. After the blast, Bay gave up four straight two-out singles to give the RailCats two more runs and extend the lead to 6-0.
That was all Tom Thornton (7-3) needed to get his Northern League leading seventh victory of the year. Thornton allowed only two hits over the first five innings and gave up only one earned run on five hits in 6.0 innings, striking out three. Thornton improved to 5-0 in his last seven outings.
Somewhat overshadowed by Esquer, rookie infielder Chris Carrara went 3-for-5 with two RBI and Jay Pecci - author of one of those eight five-hit RailCats games - went 4-for-5 with three runs driven in. Steve Haake did not have a hit until the eighth inning, but launched his eighth home run of the year in the eighth and added a two run-double in the ninth to finish with four runs batted in, giving him 44 this season.
Kevin West went 3-for-5 for Winnipeg (28-18), which scored three times in the ninth to salvage what was left of the night. Dee Brown and Dustin Richardson each also had two of the Goldeyes 10 hits.
The RailCats (27-23) head home Monday night to open a four-game series against the Kansas City T-Bones (24-24). Cubs Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins will be at U. S. Steel Yard for the 7 p.m. game, signing autographs and visiting with fans before the game, plus it's another Dollar Monday presented by NIEMI Associates, so when you buy one ticket the second is just one dollar. Great sets are still available by calling 219.882.2255 or visiting www.railcatsbaseball.com.
Kansas City will send right-hander Dustin Bolton (2-2, 7.80 ERA) to the hill against the âCats, who have not yet announced a starter for Monday's game. The contest will be broadcast live on 89.1 FM, The Lakeshore, and online at www.railcatsbaseball.com.
Notes: Esquer collected two of his five hits in the ninth inning when every RailCat reached base via hit or walk ... also 16 runs in the game were earned, raising Winnipeg's staff ERA from 3.83 to 4.10 ... the RailCats five-game winning streak is their longest of the year ... the eight runs scored in the ninth were the most by the RailCats in one inning this season, one more than the seven scored in the ninth Saturday ... three RailCats, Mike Massaro, Jeff Beachum and Esquer scored three runs ... the RailCats first scored 16 runs June 5, 2007 at Schaumburg ... the RailCats other two 12-run victories came August 13, 2003 at Schaumburg (15-3) and June 19 2005 vs. Schaumburg (12-0) ... the âCats broke the single-game hit record set in that game August 13, 2003 at Schaumburg (21).
Northern League Stories from July 12, 2009
- T-Bones Settle for Series Split with 9-8 Loss - Kansas City Monarchs
- Flyers Settle for Series-Split - Schaumburg Flyers
- JackHammers Win 5-4 - Joliet JackHammers
- Esquer, RailCats Sweep Winnipeg With 16-4 Rout - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- Goldeyes Drop a Game to the Railcats - Winnipeg Goldeyes
- Railcats roll on at U.S. Steel Yard with homestand - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- Flyers win 4-2 in 14 innings - Joliet JackHammers
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