After falling behind early, five unanswered runs aided the Lake Country DockHounds as they closed out a 5-2 win over the Gary SouthShore RailCats.
The DockHounds took control in the fourth inning and never let go as they secured their second series win this season at The Steel Yard.
During the contest’s first third, though, Jack Eisenbarger dominated the Lake Country lineup. In his first start of the season, he fired a shutout three innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while tying his single-game high of six strikeouts.
While he dominated on the mound, the RailCats supported him at the plate. Nate Scantlin stroked a single to begin their day at the plate and immediately advanced to second base on a groundout. Daniel Lingua then produced a line drive base hit to bring Scantlin home from second and give the ‘Cats a 1-0 advantage. The run marked their eighth in the first inning in the three-game series.
Two frames later, the RailCats lineup went right back to work. Tom Walraven ripped a leadoff double into the left-field corner, and Scantlin plated him one batter later through a single of his own, placing Gary SouthShore ahead 2-0.
However, as the fourth inning began, the DockHounds roared back and grabbed their first lead. Three runs on three hits, a walk, a wild pitch, and a balk turned a two-run deficit into a 3-2 edge.
Lake Country struck again in the top of the sixth. A Wilfredo Gimenez solo home run put another tally on the board and created separation between them and the RailCats, positioning them up 4-2.
At the outset of the eighth inning, the DockHounds once again got their offense going and manufactured another run. Jake Snider doubled down the left-field line to lead off, and a flyout moved the runner up to third base. The RailCats called upon their bullpen to try and curtail the threat, but Tristen Carranza’s bunt down the first base line enabled Snider to scamper home, pushing the score to 5-2.
Following a Lake Country pitching change, the RailCats offense appeared to put pressure on their three-run edge. Scantlin supplied a leadoff single, his third of the game, and Michael Woodworth walked to send the tying run to the plate. Nevertheless, the DockHounds found a way to navigate out of trouble. A controversial triple play quashed the Gary SouthShore threat and preserved their lead heading into the ninth.
Jared Price made his RailCats debut and tossed a scoreless debut in the top of the ninth to grant them a shot at a comeback, but the Lake Country bullpen suppressed any hope for late offense. They could only muster one infield hit against closer Cyrillo Watson as the DockHounds locked down the victory.
The RailCats have a day off tomorrow before returning to The Steel Yard on Friday at 6:45 p.m. to open a three-game series against the Chicago Dogs. All the action will be streamed on www.aabaseball.com, 95.9 WEFM, and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network through the Mixlr app.
