NL Gary SouthShore Railcats

Thornton, RailCats Pitch Way to 5-2 Win Over Joliet at U. S. Steel Yard

Published on June 26, 2009 under Northern League (NL)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release


GARY, Ind. - Tom Thornton pitched 6.1 innings to earn his league-leading fifth win of the season to lead the Gary SouthShore RailCats to a 5-2 victory over the Joliet JackHammers Friday night in front of 4,363 fans at U. S. Steel Yard on the first night of a nine-game homestand.

Thornton (5-3) won for the fourth time in June by twirling his best outing of the season, allowing just one run on seven hits without issuing a walk. The only run the ‘Hammers scored against Thornton came in the fourth inning when Phil Avlas singled to lead off the frame, stole second base, went to third on a Freddie Thon grounder and scored when Tydus Meadows grounded out. Thornton was great the rest of the way, leaving after back-to-back one out hits in the seventh.

The RailCats took a lead they would never give up in the fourth inning. Jordan Czarniecki was hit by a pitch with one out and Cristian Guerrero followed with a lengthy at bat that ended with the slugger depositing a deep fly ball over the seats in right for his second home run, the first RailCats hit of the day. The ‘Cats added a couple more two-out runs in the fifth on singles by Jay Pecci and Czarniecki to build a 4-1 lead and eventually chase starter Jason Richardson (1-5).

The JackHammers out-hit the RailCats 8-7 in the game but all eight hits were singles, and RailCats pitchers walked only two. Andy Shipman got the last out in the eighth with the tying run at the plate, then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his sixth save, and fifth with the RailCats.

Czarniecki went 2-for-3 and scored a pair of runs to pace the ‘Cats offense. Avlas, Andrew Pinckney and Wally Backman, Jr. each had two hits for Joliet.

The RailCats (18-21) and JackHammers (15-24) continue their three-game series Saturday night at 6 p.m. on Kids Batting Helmet Giveaway Night. The ‘Cats will pass out replica helmets to the first 1,000 kids (age 12 and under) courtesy the law firm of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C. Gates will open at 5 p.m.

Tony Cogan (2-5, 5.47 ERA) will make his league-leading 10th start for the RailCats Saturday night opposite Joliet rookie Jason Novak (1-1, 6.05 ERA). That game will be broadcast live on 89.1 FM, The Lakeshore, and online at www.railcatsbaseball.com.

Notes: The RailCats have won seven of their last eight home games and improved to 11-6 at U. S. Steel Yard ... the crowd Friday was the fifth largest at home this season ... Eddie De la Cruz allowed an earned run in the eighth inning, the first earned run he has allowed this year in 21.2 innings ... the ‘Cats allowed two runs Friday after surrendering 39 runs a three-game sweep at Fargo-Moorhead the three days prior ... the RailCats paid tribute to the late Michael Jackson, a Gary native, with a moment of silence before the game and music and videos from Jackson's career. Several RailCats players also elected to use Jackson songs as walk-up music.

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Northern League Stories from June 26, 2009


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