NL Gary SouthShore Railcats

Pitching Rules as RailCats Beat Winnipeg 2-1, Take Back First Place

Published on July 3, 2008 under Northern League (NL)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release


GARY, Ind. - Rob Marconi's ninth inning ground ball drove in Cristian Guerrero from third, and Jeremy Plexico and Koichi Misawa combined to limit Winnipeg to one run as the Gary SouthShore RailCats knocked off the Winnipeg Goldeyes 2-1 in front of 5,039 fans Thursday night at U. S. Steel Yard.

The RailCats moved back ahead of Winnipeg atop the Northern League standings, reclaiming a half-game lead on the Goldeyes after losing the first two games of this series and falling out of first place. The RailCats have three games remaining before the All-Star Break, which also signifies the midway point of the 2008 season.

In the ninth inning, Brian Beuning (3-3) gave up a single to Guerrero to lead off the inning, and the RailCats right fielder stole second base one pitch later to get into scoring position. After getting Eric Blakeley to pop out, Beuning walked Mike Rohde intentionally with first base open, then issued an unintentional free pass to pinch-hitter John McCarthy, loading the bases. Marconi fell behind on two quick strikes before rallying back to work a full count and hitting a soft ground ball to shortstop. Max Poulin flipped to second base for an out, but the Goldeyes had no play at first on the speedy Marconi, and Guerrero raced in with the winning run.

The win was the RailCats' ninth in their last at bat this season - matching last year's total - and the team's sixth "walk-off" victory at U. S. Steel Yard. Thursday night's crowd of over 5,000 was the second-largest of the year at the ballpark, and enjoyed both a RailCats win and a postgame fireworks show, commemorating Friday's July 4th holiday.

Plexico started the game for the RailCats and went 7.1 innings, lowering his team-leading earned run average to 2.82. The tall left-hander allowed only one run on nine hits to the Goldeyes, walking two - one intentionally - and striking out two others. The Northern League Pitcher of the Month for June, Plexico has allowed three runs or less in eight straight starts.

Misawa (3-1) came out of the bullpen and got five outs without allowing a hit, continuing the 34-year-old's impressive start to the season. In eight games and 14.0 innings, Misawa has allowed only five hits and struck out 13.

Zach Baldwin was nearly as impressive as Plexico, matching the RailCats' starter inning-for-inning, allowing only six hits and one run in his seven innings of work. Like Plexico, Baldwin will pitch in the Northern League All-Star Game Tuesday night in Winnipeg, and the southpaw retired the first nine batters he faced Thursday before Mike Reese's fourth inning single.

The RailCats got their first run off Baldwin in the fifth, when again it was Marconi who came through with the big hit. Marconi lined a two-out single into left scoring Eric Blakeley, who had singled to lead off the inning. Winnipeg's run came in the seventh, converting Kevin West's leadoff double into a run on Jamar Hill's sacrifice fly.

The RailCats (25-19) head to North Dakota this weekend to wrap up the first half with a three-game series against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (22-22). Drew Dicksinson (3-2, 5.30 ERA) will start for the RailCats at 5 p.m. Friday against Fargo's Broc Coffman (3-3, 3.12). That game, as always, will be broadcast live on WEFM, 95.9 FM, and online at www.railcatsbaseball.com .

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Northern League Stories from July 3, 2008


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