(Lincoln, NE) The weeklong roadtrip winds down and the RailCats needed to win game two against the Lincoln Saltdogs for it to them to leave with an above .500 record before the conclusion on Sunday. Gary SouthShore pitched Andres Diaz as he faced the rookie, Dylan Beck.
Logan Williams doubled in the first run of the game in the bottom of the second against Diaz, the RailCats responded with a two-run home run from Miguel Sierra, his third of the year. The Saltdogs scored three unanswered runs tying the game with a sacrifice fly and Jack Dragum giving Lincoln the lead back with a two-run single.
The bats awoke and responded for the RailCats as they drew two bases-loaded walks to tie the game at four. The see-saw affair continued when Logan Williams bashed his second home run of the year and the Saltdogs inched ahead again.
In the top of the eighth, Marcos Gonzalez led off with a double into right-center and he crossed the plate to even it out again, he was driven in by Guillermo Quintana with a single. With the running run at second in the bottom of the ninth, Nate Alexander induced a double-play to send the middle matchup into extra innings.
Olivier Basabe started at second base and was moved up by a Gonzalez bunt. It was Jackson Valera once again delivering for the RailCats in the clutch, singling and flipping his bat after a lengthy trip to the plate against David Zoz. With two runners in scoring position, Jose Contreras checked his swing and put the ball in play, Drew Devine would field the ball and as he threw, he tripped over his feet and the error brought two runs for Gary.
Lincoln came up trailing, and their slugger Spencer Hensen drilled a ball into the gap but Gio Diaz played the ball perfectly off the wall and it led to a perfect relay to nab Hensen at second for the second out. Hensen did drive in a run to make it 8-6, Nick Anderson singled and the game would continue for Alex Baeza. After falling behind 3-0, Alexander came all the way back and struck out Baeza to make the game final and the RailCats held on for their fifth win in the past six contests.
Gary SouthShore adds another win to the column, going to 15-24. They are 3.5 games out of a playoff spot and will finish the series and roadtrip on Sunday at 1:05 PM. Peyton Long, coming off of his seven scoreless innings against Winnipeg will be on the hill at Haymarket Park. The finale will be streamed on AABaseball.TV, Mixlr, and WE.FM 95.9.