The Gary SouthShore RailCats could not silence the Kane County Cougars power bats as their three home runs led them to a 6-3 win.
The RailCats offense propelled them to an early lead as they jumped out in front in the bottom of the second inning. On his first swing of the ballgame, Victor Nova launched a solo home run to put the ‘Cats ahead 1-0.
The very next inning, the RailCats got back to work at the plate to extend their advantage. Jackson Smith drew a walk before Michael Woodworth and Daniel Lingua notched base hits to load the bases, and LG Castillo‘s fly ball to the warning track in left field plated another run to give Gary SouthShore a 2-0 advantage.
Once the game reached the middle innings, though, the Cougars kicked their bats into gear. An error with runners on first and second base allowed them to make their way onto the scoreboard, but after placing two runners in scoring position, starting pitcher Chris Erwin clutched up to preserve the RailCats edge. He fanned the next batter he faced to keep Gary SoutnShore in front 2-1.
Kane County brought their home run swings with them into the top of the fifth to grab their first lead. A two-out, three-run home run propelled them past the ‘Cats as they went up 4-2.
They continued to add on in their next turn at bat in the sixth. A leadoff home run tacked on their first run, and a two-out single with a runner on second base gave them a three-run buffer shortly thereafter.
Though the Cougars continued to threaten at the dish, the RailCats bullpen stepped up to maintain their deficit at four. Aaron Phillips came out of the bullpen to toss 1.1 scoreless innings while Joel Huertas and Yeison Medina followed suit in the eighth and ninth.
Down to their final three outs, Sam Abbott struck back in historic fashion to bring the ‘Cats back within three. He clubbed his 19th home run of the season, a towering one-out blast off the batter’s eye in center field, to pull level with Cristian Guerrero for the franchise single-season record.
However, that was all the RailCats could muster. The Cougars bullpen secured the final two outs to grab the victory.
The RailCats finish off their three-game series at The Steel Yard against the Cougars tomorrow at 6:45 p.m. All the action will be streamed on www.aabaseball.tv, 95.9 WEFM, and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network through the Mixlr app.