Sports stats



NL Gary SouthShore Railcats

RailCats and RedHawks Each Win, Series Heads to Gary Tied

September 9, 2009 - Northern League (NL)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release


FARGO, N.D. - The Gary SouthShore RailCats scored five unanswered runs to win Game One of the Northern League Championship Series 6-4 Wednesday night at Newman Outdoor Field, before the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks bounced back to win Game Two 9-5 and even the series at a game apiece.

After Tuesday night's game one action was suspended in the top of the fifth inning, the 'Cats came out quickly when the game resumed Wednesday. With Chris Carrara on second base and the RailCats down 4-3, Rob Marconi bunted Carrara to third and Mike Massaro hit a sacrifice fly to center to score the tying run.

The RailCats took the lead two innings later when Jeff Beachum doubled to lead off the bottom of the seventh and scored on a one-out Carrara single off T.J. Stanton (0-1). The 'Cats picked up an insurance tally on a Beachum sacrifice fly in the eighth and the bullpen did the rest, holding Fargo off the board after the fourth inning.

Kyle Heyne (1-0) earned the Game One win with two innings of scoreless relief - the sixth and seventh innings - before Aaron Cook worked around a leadoff single in the eighth by getting Northern League Player of the Year Nic Jackson to hit into an inning-ending 3-6-3 double play. Andy Shipman worked a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his fourth save of the postseason.

Beachum went 2-for-2 in the game one win with two runs scored, but only two other RailCats had hits. The RedHawks out-hit the RailCats 11-4 but Fargo stranded 12 men on base while the visitors left only four. Justin Justice went 3-for-4 to pace the Fargo attack.

In Game Two, Fargo got the scoring started early with three runs in the bottom of the first inning against Derell McCall (1-1) and never looked back. The RailCats got the game even with three runs in the top of the second inning - two on a Massaro triple - but Fargo came back with a run in the bottom of the second and would never be tied again.

The RedHawks got only 1.1 innings out of starter Yosandy Ibanez, but Jeremy Hauer (2-0) was excellent in 4.2 innings of relief and Tim Lavigne got the last nine outs for his second playoff save. The RailCats, meanwhile, used three different pitchers, each of whom allowed at least one run.

Down 7-3 going to the seventh inning the RailCats finally got to Hauer when Massaro reached on an infield single to bring up Eric McNamee. The fifth-year RailCats second baseman got a 2-2 pitch to hit and drove it off the top of the wall in left and over for his second career playoff home run. McNamee has not hit a home run in his regular season career.

Again, however, Fargo answered right away with two runs in the bottom of the seventh to squelch the RailCats comeback effort. The RedHawks collected 14 hits in game two, including two apiece from Donzell McDonald, Jeremiah Piepkorn, Ruben Salazar, Alan Rick, Justice and Cota. The RailCats were led by Massaro's 3-for-5 game.

The series continues at U. S. Steel Yard Friday night at 7 p.m. for Game Three. Along with championship baseball, the first 1,500 fans will get a free hot dog, the first 1,000 fans get a complimentary "Tradition of Excellence" poster and the first 300 kids - age 12 and under - will grab a free logo baseball from IU-Northwest. Plus, after the game stick around for a post-game fireworks spectacular, sponsored by First Midwest and the Post-Tribune.

Notes: RailCats Manager Greg Tagert was ejected in the seventh inning of Game Two after arguing an out call at first base on a Steve Haake double play ... the RailCats have been out-hit 25-14 in the first two games of the series ... the 'Cats Game One win was their first ever in the postseason in Fargo (now 1-5) ... Hauer pitched in both games Wednesday, getting two strikeouts in Game One before his long outing in the nightcap.

Check out the Gary SouthShore Railcats Statistics



Northern League Stories from September 9, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Gary SouthShore Railcats Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central