NL Gary SouthShore Railcats

Glen Nears Perfection, Tosses Masterpiece to Lead RailCats

Published on July 22, 2007 under Northern League (NL)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release


Gary, Ind.-Willie Glen's bid for a perfect game ended with two outs in the eighth inning, but Glen held on to complete a one-hit shutout as the Gary SouthShore RailCats defeated the Joliet JackHammers 4-0 on Sunday afternoon before a crowd of 4,729 at U. S. Steel Yard. Glen retired 27 of the 28 batters in the game and struck out 11 in the top pitching performance in RailCats history.

The RailCats completed a three-game sweep with the win and improved their record against Joliet this season to 11-2. The RailCats are 7-4 in the second half and 37-22 overall. Joliet fell to 4-7 in the second half and 26-33 overall.

Glen retired the first 23 batters of the game, going to a three-ball count only twice, before Dennis Blackmon grounded the first pitch of his at bat through the left side of the Gary infield for a clean single to end Glen's bid for perfection. Glen retired the final batter of the eighth and had a perfect ninth to complete the masterpiece.

The RailCats scored in the third inning to take the lead when Mike Reese led off with a double and scored one batter later on David Detienne's double play ground out. Gary added one more in the fifth on a double by Tanner Townsend and a two-out RBI single by Dale Mueller to bring in Townsend. In the seventh, Jose Yepez led off with a double and Townsend followed with a titanic home run to left that just missed clearing the netting high above the wall to make it 4-0.

Glen's performance marked his second near-no hitter with the RailCats. In 2006 against Calgary, he took a no-hitter to the ninth inning before give up a bunt single that turned out to be the only hit against him.

The nine inning shutout was the second of the season for a RailCats pitcher. Josh Habel fired a five-hit shutout over Schaumburg on June 14. It was the first career regular season shutout for Glen. He shutout Fargo-Moorhead in game one of the Northern League Championship Series in 2006.

The RailCats are off on Monday. They will return to action on Tuesday night at Schaumburg in a 7:05 p.m. game. Northern League victories leader Josh Habel (9-3, 3.41) will start for Gary against Schaumburg's Billy Keppinger (5-4, 4.02). The RailCats return home on Friday to host Fargo-Moorhead.

Notes: The RailCats sold the contract of pitcher Chad Blackwell to the Toronto Blue Jays prior to the game...The RailCats went 4-3 on the seven game homestand, winning the last three after losing three straight to Schaumburg.

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Northern League Stories from July 22, 2007


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