GARY SOUTHSHORE RAILCATS MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2023
Contact: Zach Letson
Phone: 219-882-2255
Email: [email protected]
RailCats Drop Extra-Inning Heartbreaker to Saltdogs
Gary, IN – Despite placing the winning run to third base in the ninth inning, the Gary SouthShore RailCats (20-31) fell 6-4 in 10 innings to the Lincoln Saltdogs (26-23) Friday at The Steel Yard.
Right away, the Saltdogs got their offense going. Lincoln connected on three first-inning hits and two runs to jump out to a 2-0 lead.
However, the RailCats immediately responded. Gio Díaz and Jackson Valera laced back-to-back singles to begin the threat. With one out, newly minted American Association All-Star “Last Man In” Fan Vote winner LG Castillo drove in Gary SouthShore’s first run with a RBI single of his own. Francisco Del Valle then roped a single, scoring Valera to tie the game at two. A Jose Contreras walk loaded the bases, and the next batter, Seth Caddell, drew a walk to bring home another run, providing the ‘Cats a 3-2 lead following his first American Association plate appearance.
The score remained there until the fourth inning as Lincoln utilized a Marshall Awtry sacrifice fly to knot the game at three.
As the game progressed, the ‘Cats bullpen kept the game tied. Aaron Phillips and Joan Valdez delivered scoreless frames to keep the game deadlocked at three heading into the eighth.
At that point, Lincoln took a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning, but it did not take long for the RailCats to answer back. After entering as a defensive substitute in the half-inning prior, Victor Nova drew a lead-off walk and promply advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Daniel Lingua then delivered with a game-tying RBI single to right field, bringing Nova home and leveling the score at four apiece.
2023 American Association All-Star DJ Wilkinson delivered with a scoreless ninth, facing the minimum., and Valera led off with a single to begin the bottom half, later advanced to third with two outs. Nevertheless, Lincoln managed to escape the walk-off threat and sent the game to extra innings.
One batter into the top of the 10th, the Saltdogs took the lead for good. Nick Anderson belted a two-run home run, providing Lincoln with all the run support they needed to close out the contest.
The RailCats remain in pursuit of their 1,000th win as they head back to The Steel Yard at 4:00 p.m. in game two of their three-game series against the Saltdogs. First pitch of game two between the ‘Cats and Saltdogs is at 4 p.m. All the action will be streamed on aabaseball.tv and broadcast over the radio on 95.9 WEFM and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network via the Mixlr app.
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