Geneva, IL – The Gary SouthShore RailCats (35-49) and Kane County Cougars (42-43) engaged in a see-saw battle through the first five innings at Northwestern Medicine Field, but a five-run outburst in the sixth inning pushed the hosts over the top to a series-opening 11-3 victory.
In the early stages, though, the RailCats pounced on a Kane County defensive miscue to open the scoring. With two outs in the top of the first, Jesus Marriaga legged out an infield single, and an errant throw enabled Jackson Valera to race home from first base, firing Gary SouthShore ahead 1-0.
Though the Cougars knotted up the score on a Hector Sanchez solo home run in the bottom of the second, Gary SouthShore restored their lead in the top of the third. Michael Woodworth and Gio Díaz ripped singles to begin the inning before a Marcos Gonzalez walk loaded the bases. The very next batter, Valera, brought Woodworth home, grounding out to place the RailCats in front 2-1.
Playing from behind once again, Kane County wasted no time pulling back into pole position. They struck for three runs in the bottom of the third and provided another pair in the fourth, providing them a 6-2 edge heading into the game’s halfway point.
Both teams traded scoreless frames in the fifth before the RailCats pulled a run back in the top of the sixth. Francisco Del Valle roped a leadoff double before promptly advancing to third base on a ground out. Seth Caddell then stepped up and struck a hard ground ball that resulted in an error, lowering the deficit to three.
From that point forward, the bullpens took over. Jared Price proceeded to throw scoreless frames in both the seventh and eighth, but the RailCats could not muster any more offense, helping the Cougars finish off the win.
The RailCats head back to Northwestern Medicine Field tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow as they aim to even up their series against the Cougars. All the action will be streamed on www.aabaseball.tv as well as broadcast over the radio on 95.9 WEFM and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network through the Mixlr app.
