For Immediate Release

July 15, 2021

 

Miracle Comeback Falls Just Short in 7-6 RailCats Loss

 

FARGO, ND- In the series rubber match at Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo, ND, the Gary SouthShore RailCats (23-29) came up just short of an unthinkable seven-run comeback as the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks took the series on their home field with a 7-6 final.

 

The third final score of the three-game set that ended in a one-run difference, the RailCats nearly notched a comeback victory after falling behind 7-0 in the third inning.

 

In each of the first two innings, the Redhawks would lead off the frame with a solo home run, first by Correlle Prime and then by Jordan George.

 

RailCats starter John Sheaks suffered the loss after allowing the aforementioned two runs in two innings as he faced ten batters in his second start of the year. 

 

While the game felt manageable after two, Fargo-Moorhead cranked things wide open in the third as the Redhawks would score five against Cole Cook in his first inning of work to take a 7-0 lead. 

 

Yet, after the third, Cook locked down the Redhawks for the entirety of the game. Cook threw six innings on the mound with five runs on nine hits, three walks and two strikeouts.

 

Down by seven in the fifth, the RailCats would crack the goose egg in the fifth as Hayden Schilling singled in Tom Walraven. On the ensuing batter, Jesus Marriaga roped a single over the 6-foot-5 first baseman Prime as Schilling raced into score. 

 

Nearly halfway to the plate, Schilling twisted around to retreat to the third base bag as his foot caught the grass to send the starting third baseman tumbling to his knees in pain. In between third and home, Schilling would be tagged out and abruptly leave the game with a lower leg injury. That run proved to be crucial at the end of the game.

 

Daniel Lingua drove in one more run on a sac-fly in the sixth to cut the lead to 7-2. 

 

Heading to the seventh, five of the eight RailCats position players that started the game were replaced by RailCats that had previously been on the bench. The RailCats would hold the lead going into the eighth, and then the replacement bats sparked a rally.

 

Lingua began the frame reaching base as a hit batsman as he extended his on-base streak to 29 consecutive games, the third longest active streak in the American Association.

 

The next three batters in the inning would draw a walk as the RailCats tallied another run to slice into the lead. With the bases loaded and one down, Ciaran Devenney drove a two-RBI single up the middle to bring the lead to 7-5.

 

Just two batters later, Billy Cooke laced a liner through the four hole to cut the lead to just one for Cooke’s third hit of the day in just his third game of the season. 

 

Yet, with Alex DuBord on the mound, the RailCats would leave three stranded in the eighth and two more left to hitchhike in the ninth to win 7-6 for the Redhawks. 

 

The Gary SouthShore RailCats head to Milwaukee, WI for the third leg of a 10-game road trip to play three against the Milwaukee Milkmen at Franklin Field with game one scheduled for tomorrow, July 16 at 6:35 p.m.

 

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