RailCats Win Fifth Straight, Hit Three Home Runs to Beat T-Bones 7-5
August 7, 2009 - Northern League (NL)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Jordan Czarniecki hit a tie-breaking three-run home run in the sixth inning and Andy Shipman got the last four outs to record his league-leading 12th save as the Gary SouthShore RailCats beat the Kansas City T-Bones 7-5 Friday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, their fifth win in a row.
Both starting pitchers worked in and out of trouble for the first five innings before Cristian Guerrero and Mike Rohde reached on back-to-back hits to start off the sixth. Rohde's double pushed the runners to second and third, but Kansas City starter Dustin Bolton (4-5) got the first out before Czarniecki launched a 3-2 pitch well over the wall in left to make the score 4-1 RailCats. The homer was Czarniecki's fourth of the year but first since June 20.
Neb Brown hit a solo home run in the bottom of the inning to pull the hosts within two, but Mike Rohde cracked a two-out, opposite field home run in the top of the seventh to grab a 6-2 lead. Rohde has three home runs in his RailCats career, and all three have been hit in Kansas City including a solo home run August 1 of this year in a âCats win.
Rob Marconi added a solo shot of his own, his fourth, off reliever Justin James in the seventh inning before Kansas City made a run late. Ryan Fox hit a two-run triple against Eddie De la Cruz to make it 7-5 with in the eighth, and with the tying run at the plate and two down Shipman was called on to face hot-hitting Aharon Eggleston. Shipman got Eggleston to pop out and finished the save in the ninth, getting Jim Fasano to pop out to third after a two-out single.
Shipman has 11 of his 12 saves since joining the RailCats in June after being waived by the T-Bones. The right-hander has nailed down five of his 12 saves against his former club and has a sparkling 0.94 ERA in 26 games with the RailCats. Shipman locked down a fourth straight win for Derell McCall (4-0), who allowed only two runs in six innings despite giving up six hits and four walks. McCall has won all four of his starts in a RailCats uniform.
Bolton, who had allowed only 13 hits his first three starts against the RailCats, was saddled with the loss after allowing six runs (five earned) on 13 hits in 6.2 innings Friday.
Every RailCats starter had at least one hit as the RailCats set season-highs with three home runs, five doubles and eight extra-base hits. Marconi finished 3-for-4 with a single, double and home run, and Czarniecki, Rohde and Anthony Esquer each also had two hits as those four hitters - the bottom of the âCats order - combined to go 9-for-18 with three homers, three doubles, six RBI and five runs scored. Steve Haake and Jay Pecci each also added two hits.
The win, coupled with Winnipeg's loss at home to Schaumburg, brought the âCats within 1.5 games of first place in the league standings. The RailCats have won five games in a row for just the second time this year, the first coming during a season-long six-game win streak July 14-19.
The RailCats (45-30) and T-Bones (33-42) continue a five-game series Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. Chris Jones (6-2, 3.23 ERA) will make the start for the âCats against Kansas City left-hander Ryan Knippschild (3-5, 4.04 ERA). That game will be broadcast live on 89.1 FM, The Lakeshore, and online at www.railcatsbaseball.com.
Notes: The RailCats combined for five runs and 18 hits in a three game series last weekend in Kansas City. The âCats scored seven runs on 16 total hits Friday night ... Mike Massaro doubled in the fifth inning to tie for the league lead with 21 doubles this year ... the RailCats improved to 8-4 against Kansas City this year and 2-2 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark ... the RailCats are a season-high 15 games over .500.
More Info: The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a Professional Minor League Baseball Team serving Northwest Indiana and Chicago's south suburbs. The RailCats won the Northern League championship in 2005 and 2007 and for each of the last five years, they have been chosen "Best Local Spectator Sport" by Northwest Indiana Business Quarterly. Their 96 game schedule includes 48 home games at beautiful U. S. Steel Yard, an award-winning 6,000 seat state-of-the-art facility located next to the Indiana Toll Road (I-90) with easy access to I-65.
Northern League Stories from August 7, 2009
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