GARY SOUTHSHORE RAILCATS MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 2023
Contact: Ryan Zimmerman
Phone: 219-882-2255
Email: [email protected]    

RailCats and Monarchs Share Honors in Doubleheader Split

Kansas City, KS – The Gary SouthShore RailCats (25-33) and Kansas City Monarchs (36-22) both found their way into the win column on Saturday night as they split a doubleheader. 

In game one, even as Gary SouthShore starter Harrison Francis notched a six-inning quality start, the Monarchs took advantage of their few scoring opportunities against him.  Chris Herrmann connected on a two-run home run in Kansas City’s first turn at bat, and Odubel Herrera recorded a run-scoring single in the fifth inning, helping the Monarchs to a 3-0 lead heading into the final frame. 

However, down to their final three outs, the RailCats refused to give in.  Francisco Del Valle doubled, Victor Nova drew a walk, and Daniel Lingua got hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out.  Michael Woodworth was then hit by a pitch to bring Del Valle home, leaving the bags full for Gio Díaz whose walk lowered the Kansas City advantage to one.  The next batter, Jackson Valera, rolled an RBI groundout to tie the game, setting up Jesus Marriaga to leg out an infield single to complete the comeback and fire Gary SouthShore ahead 4-3. 

Yet, the ‘Cats were not finished.  LG Castillo drilled a single that plated Díaz, and in his second at-bat of the inning, Del Valle hit a hard ground ball to short that caused an error. That scored Marriaga, flipping a three-run deficit into a three-run edge heading into the bottom of the seventh. 

The Monarchs wasted no time mounting a comeback of their own.  L.J. Hatch registered a base hit to pull Kansas City within two, and they loaded the bases soon after through a Herrera single and Peter Maris walk.   At that point, though, ‘Cats closer DJ Wilkinson stepped up and got pinch hitter Micker Adolfo to fly out, sealing a 6-4 victory in game one. 

Gary SouthShore’s bullpen helped further limit the Monarchs’ lineup heading into game two.  Oddy Nuñez started it off by tossing two scoreless frames, and Aaron Phillips followed up with two zeroes of his own. 

Heading into the bottom of the fifth, the Monarchs found a way to break through.  A four-run rally opened the scoring and gave them a sizeable cushion heading into the late stages. 

Once again, the RailCats hit the comeback.  Lingua doubled to give the RailCats a runner in scoring position in the top of the sixth, and Marriaga cashed it in thanks to a two-out single. The ensuing hitter, Castillo, crushed a triple to the wall in center field, placing Gary SouthShore within reach of another come-from-behind effort. 

Nevertheless, Kansas City kept their offense hot in the bottom half of the frame.  They erupted for three runs, creating the late separation they needed to finish off a 7-2 win in game two. 

The RailCats and Monarchs get set for a rubber match at Legends Field in tomorrow’s 1:00 p.m. series finale.  All the action will be streamed on aabaseball.tv as well as broadcast over the radio on 95.9 WEFM and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network via the Mixlr app. 

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