(Geneva, IL) The story for this game was all about mother Nature. With an original start time of 6:30, the game should be pushed back to 7:20 and would feature a second delay after the third inning forcing both starters out of the game. But even with the conditions the RailCats had to battle with one of the best offenses in the league.
The ‘Cats did not take long to score, after Olivier Basabe got his first hit of the five he would collect on the night, he moved to third and Carlos Rincon would send a deep fly ball to center that allowed Basabe to trot home. Rincon would make a great catch in the bottom of the third that led to a double play, and the second rain delay.
Ryan Munoz would take the ball from Peyton Long after the delay and he went three strong innings allowing the tying run to score on a bases-loaded walk to Todd Lott, but he would get the support from the ‘Cats sticks right after.
With two outs, the RailCats rallied behind a walk to Gio Diaz, a single from Basabe, and that set the stage for Guillermo Quintana to hook a ball into left for the go-ahead run. A wild pitch would score in the second run, and LG Castillo who finished the night with three hits, worked the opposite field with a two-run single and blowing the game open.
Joan Valdez, Josh Smith, and Nate Alexander would bridge Munoz to his first win, and hand the RailCats their second road win this season. The pitching staff tonight combined to strike out 12 Cougars in a bounce back effort. The club is now sitting at 5-9 and currently 3.5 games out of first place.
The showdown with the Cougars continues tomorrow at 6:30 PM, Deyni Olivero is scheduled to start on the mound for the ‘Cats, you can catch the action on AABaseball.TV, Mixlr, and WE.FM 95.9.
The RailCats are scheduled for a double-header on Memorial Day against the Sioux Falls Canaries, with the first game being scheduled for a 4:00 PM start. Single-game tickets are available by calling 219-882-2255 and railcatsbaseball.com.