(Gary, IN) Back for the second game at Lewis and Clark Park in Sioux City, Iowa, the Gary SouthShore RailCats were set for the middle matchup against the Sioux City Explorers after the RailCats won 6-2 Tuesday.
Peyton Long, the starter for the RailCats and Peniel Otano who started for the X’s traded zeros through the first two innings. But in the bottom of the third Dillon Thomas smashed a home run over the left field wall to make it 1-0.
In the top of the fourth with two outs, Elvis Peralta doubled over the head of Austin Davis in center. Joe Suozzi would tap one to third and Zane Denton would throw the ball away to allow the ‘Cats to tie it.
The Explorers rallied in the bottom of the fifth. The top four batters in the lineup picked up singled and walked away with two runs. The top of the sixth started with a Cooper Weiss double, a Peralta walk, and Suozzi singled to bring Weiss in. Camryn Williams put down a bunt to put two runners in scoring position, Nick Podkul drove a ball to center for a sac fly, and Jake Guenther capped off the inning with a single to right. Gary led Sioux City 4-3.
The Explorers loaded up the bases in bottom of the sixth and after 5.2 innings, RailCats Manager Jeff Isom took out Long and brought in Joan Valdez. Valdez would induce the groundout to keep Gary ahead by one.
Denson Hull and Dawson Lane would put together a couple of scoreless frames back-to-back and set the stages for closer Jacob Coats in the ninth. Coats would hit the catcher on the first pitch to put the tying-run on. Then a walk had the winning run on, Zac Vooletich would lay down a bunt and Podkul would start a 5-6-4 double play. Braulio Vasquez would draw a base on balls and steal second to have the winning run in scoring position with two outs.
Coats would strike out Alberto Osuna looking to end the game and give the RailCats a 4-3 win to go over .500. The RailCats have now won six of their last seven and have a chance to go for the sweep Thursday at 6:35. J.C. Flowers will pitch for the ‘Cats and the Explorers will throw Hunter Cashero. A livestream will be available on AABaseball.TV.
The RailCats will be back home to face the Milwaukee Milkmen with a few theme nights such as Pajama Night, Boiler Up Night and Cream and Crimson Night. Tickets can be found on TIXR.com/RailCats or call the ballpark at 219-882-2255.