For Immediate Release
August 1, 2021
Errors Plague RailCats in Series Finale
SIOUX CITY, Iowa- In the series finale at Mercy Field, the Gary SouthShore RailCats (27-41) dropped a 12-5 loss to the Sioux City Explorers (39-29) and committed a season high six errors in the process.
With five errors combined between the RailCats’ middle infield, Gary SouthShore would record just three earned runs of the X’s 12 that would cross the plate in the game three loss.
For the third straight game, the Explorers quickly opened the first frame with the lead as Sioux City jumped on top 3-0 after one.
As two more unearned runs would score in the second, the game soon felt out-of-reach within the first two innings.
RailCats starter John Sheaks would suffer the loss on the day with 4.1 innings allowing seven runs, just three of which were earned, on six hits with five walks and two strikeouts. Sheaks had walked just one batter this season prior to the series finale loss.
In the third, the RailCats saw a gleam with the bases loaded and nobody out. After a Daniel Lingua single to score the first run of the game for Gary, the momentum quickly shifted back to Sioux City after a baserunning blunder cost the RailCats an extra out on a sac-fly from Tommy McCarthy.
Zach Welz led off the fifth frame with a two-bagger into left for his second of two hits on the day and then came around to score on a Jesus Marriaga RBI-groundout to cut the score to 5-3 Explorers.
Just when the RailCats thought they had a chance, the Explorers would add four runs in the ensuing inning, three of which unearned to go up 9-3 after five.
A one-out, two-RBI single by Tom Walraven cut the lead to 9-5 in the eighth as Walraven extended his hitting streak to 11 straight games with the late base knock.
Yet, with a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth, the game fell out of reach.
The Gary SouthShore RailCats finish their six-game road trip with an even 3-3 mark as they head home for ten straight at the Steel Yard that kicks off with a four-game slate against the Sioux Falls Canaries tomorrow, August 2 at 7:10 p.m.
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