NL Gary SouthShore Railcats

T-Bones Score Three Unearned Runs, Beat RailCats 5-2

Published on August 2, 2009 under Northern League (NL)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release


KANSAS CITY, Kan. - The Kansas City T-Bones scored three unearned runs in the fifth inning and, despite collecting only four hits, defeated the Gary SouthShore RailCats 5-2 Sunday evening at CommunityAmerica Ballpark to take two of three games in the series.

Chris Carrara went 4-for-4 to notch the first four-hit game of his career and match the T-Bones hit total as a team, but some shaky defense and a couple wasted scoring opportunities let the hosts escape with the three-run win. Kansas City scored twice in the fourth - thanks to an error - and three times in the fifth - when the ‘Cats committed two errors - to pull in front 5-1 and they made the early scoring stand up.

After the RailCats got a run in the second on a Jeff Beachum sacrifice fly, Damian Rolls was hit by a Tony Cogan (6-6) pitch to lead off the fourth inning. After going to second on a wild pitch, Rolls headed towards third when Greg Jacobs chopped the ball back to the mound. Cogan threw to third, but his throw was in the dirt and skipped into foul territory allowing Rolls to come in and score. Jacobs would come in later in the inning on a Craig Hurba single.

The fifth started the same way, with Jeff Helps hit by a pitch and going to second on an Aharon Eggleston single. The RailCats tried to pick Helps off of second, but again Cogan's throw was errant allowing the runners to move up. After getting an out, Jacobs grounded one to Carrara - who was drawn in from second - but Carrara's throw home was not in time, allowing Helps to score. Two batters later, Jim Fasano reached on a two-out Jay Pecci error to keep the frame going and Ryan Fox picked up the pieces with an RBI single.

The RailCats got a run back in the top of the sixth when Mike Massaro reached on an infield hit, then scored on Carrara's first RailCats triple, a liner to the gap in left-center. However, Carrara was thrown out at home plate when the next hitter, Pecci, grounded the ball to first. Carrara and Pecci were each thrown out at the dish by T-Bones during the game.

In the seventh and eighth innings, the RailCats again had scoring chances but reliever Daniel Sattler worked out of both jams, stranding five runners in those two frames to keep the win alive for Dustin Bolton (4-4). Bolton allowed both runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings. Nate Cotton pitched a perfect ninth to get his seventh save.

Cogan (6-6) deserved better after another strong outing Sunday, giving up only four hits in seven innings. Just two of the five runs charged to Cogan were earned (although he committed two of the three errors made during his start), and the left-hander struck out three against just one walk.

Carrara, starting for the first time in the series reached on three singles and his RBI triple in the sixth, and also stole his eighth base of the year. In his third professional season, Carrara had never collected more than three hits in a game before Sunday, and his efforts bumped the utility man's season average to .318 in 23 games. No other RailCats starter had more than one hit, although Mike Rohde did reach three times on two walks and a single.

The RailCats (40-30) return to U. S. Steel Yard Monday night at 7 p.m. to open a four-game series against the Schaumburg Flyers (31-38). It's Vegas Night at the ballpark, with Elvis in the building and the ‘Cats giving some lucky fan a two-night trip for two to Las Vegas. The RailCats will also be giving away White Sox Ticket Vouchers to the first 2,500 fans, courtesy Comcast.

Derell McCall (2-0, 3.27 ERA) will against Schaumburg right-hander Dustin Glant (5-4, 4.53 ERA) Monday night. The game will be broadcast live on 89.1 FM, The Lakeshore, and online at www.railcatsbaseball.com.

Notes: The RailCats lost a series for just the second time in the last 10 sets overall. Six of the RailCats seven series losses in 2009 have come on the road ... the ‘Cats lost when out-hitting their opponent for just the sixth time in 31 games this year ... the two fifth inning errors mark the eighth time this year the RailCats have made two errors in an inning ... the loss dropped the RailCats road record to 16-21. The ‘Cats are 24-9 at U. S. Steel Yard ... Sunday's loss was Cogan's first since June 23. The RailCats had won each of Cogan's previous seven starts.

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.

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Northern League Stories from August 2, 2009


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