AA Gary SouthShore Railcats

RailCats Rush Past Cougars Late, Grab Win in 2,000th Game

Published on June 30, 2023 under American Association (AA)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release


Geneva, IL - The Gary SouthShore RailCats (19-26) got their bats going in the middle innings, and a dominant effort out of the bullpen took them the rest of the way as they defeated the Kane County Cougars (21-23) 7-3.

After falling behind 3-1 after five innings, the 'Cats rattled off six unanswered runs, and four pitches combined to lock up the Kane County offense down the stretch to ensure a victory in the 2,000th game in the franchise's storied history.

Both starting pitchers were locked in early on, but the RailCats produced the contest's first run by playing small ball in the top of the third. Victor Nova led off with a well-struck single and promptly advanced to second base on a Thomas Greely fielder's choice. Michael Woodworth legged out a fielder's choice of his own to place runners on the corners, setting up Daniel Lingua to lift a sacrifice fly to provide Gary SouthShore a 1-0 edge.

Given a lead for the first time, starting pitcher Harrison Francis kept the Cougar bats from breaking through themselves. He proceeded to strand three runners on base over the next two innings, two in scoring position, striking out three as well.

However, Kane County rallied to take their first lead shortly thereafter. The heart of their order struck for three runs with two outs, racing the Cougars ahead 3-1.

In their next turn at bat, though, the RailCats responded. Lingua singled to open the frame before stealing second base and advancing to third on a groundout. Jackson Valera cut the Gary SouthShore deficit in half on a sacrifice fly, and even as the bases cleared, they never slowed down. LG Castillo singled, and the next batter, Jesus Marriaga crushed a towering two-run home run to left-center field, firing the 'Cats back in front 4-3.

Two innings later, a two-out rally supplied Gary SouthShore with a pair of vital insurance runs. As Valera stood on second base, Castillo registered another single, this one into center field, to bring the first baseman home. A Marriaga hit-by-pitch then positioned runners on first and second for Francisco Del Valle, and he came through by dropping a single near the left field foul line, pushing the RailCats' advantage to three.

Heading into the top of the ninth, the top of the order took advantage of a pair of Kane County mistakes to manufacture another run. Woodworth recorded an infield single, and a wild throw allowed him to reach third base on the play. That forced the Cougars to bring their infield in, and Lingua capitalized by blooping a single into shallow left field, upping their cushion to four.

All the while, the Gary SouthShore bullpen mowed through the Kane County lineup. Oddy Nuñez, Joan Valdez, Jack Eisenbarger, and DJ Wilkinson combined to retire each of the last 10 Cougars they faced, closing out a memorable win.

The RailCats can secure their second consecutive win when they return to Northwestern Medicine Field tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. for game two of their three-game weekend series against the Cougars. All the action will be streamed on aabaseball.tv as well as broadcast over the radio on 95.9 WEFM and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network via the Mixlr app.

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American Association Stories from June 30, 2023


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