Sioux Falls, SD – The Gary SouthShore RailCats (11-12) took control in the middle innings of Monday’s series finale, but the Sioux Falls Canaries (10-13) got their best swings off late to grab a 3-2 win.
It took a few innings for the RailCats’ offense to find their footing, but they struck for two runs in the top of the fourth inning to take the game’s first lead. Gio Díaz legged out an infield single, and the next batter, Victor Nova, promptly connected on a two-run home run. The blast marked his third of the series, placing Gary SouthShore ahead 2-0.
Pitching with a lead for the first time, starting pitcher Chris Erwin continued to dominate the Canaries. He proceeded to carve through the Sioux Falls order as he took a scoreless outing into the sixth inning.
However, the Canaries finally found their breakthrough hit in the bottom of that frame. Though a double play threatened to stifle their momentum, Trevor Achenbach supplied a two-out run-scoring double to cut the RailCats lead to 2-1.
In their ensuing turn at bat, Darnell Sweeney stepped up to complete the Sioux Falls comeback. A two-out, two-run home run turned their one-run deficit into a one-run lead, giving the Canaries a 2-1 edge heading into the final two frames.
That one tally proved to be enough for the Canaries bullpen to finish the RailCats off as two different pitchers combined to throw scoreless innings to secure a victory.
The RailCats return to The Steel Yard tomorrow to face the Cleburne Railroaders (11-12) at 6:45 p.m. for the first game of a six-game series. All the action will be streamed on www.aabaseball.tv and broadcast over the radio on 95.9 WEFM and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network via the Mixlr app.
