The Gary SouthShore RailCats looked to be in full control on Friday night in Franklin, but the Milwaukee Milkmen had other plans. They struck for six runs in the final four innings to turn a 5-0 deficit into a 6-5 walk-off win.
The RailCats got their offense going early as they jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Javeyan Williams earned a leadoff walk, and Michael Cruz grooved a double to right-center field to bring him home two batters later and put Gary SouthShore ahead.
Just a couple of innings later, the RailCats converted with the bases loaded in the top of the fourth. Tom Walraven, M.J. Rookard, and Daniel Lingua singled in consecutive at-bats before a wild pitch and a Williams sacrifice fly gave Gary SouthShore a 3-0 advantage in the game’s middle stages.
They continued to add on in the sixth inning on the strength of savvy base running. Lingua, Williams, and Woodworth each recorded base hits and stolen bases while Woodworth and Cruz drove in runs through a single and fielder’s choice respectively to go up 5-0.
The RailCats registered four stolen bases on the day, their most in a single game this season.
On the mound, starting pitcher John Sheaks was nothing short of dominant. In his 5.1 inning start, he only permitted one unearned run to cross home plate on four hits while walking three and striking out an astonishing 12 batters.
However, the Milkmen stormed back in the final four frames to cap off a five-run comeback. They plated a run apiece in the sixth and seventh innings and tacked on pairs in the eighth and ninth to end the night victorious.
The teams head back to Franklin Field for game two of this Memorial Day weekend series tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. Ryan Zimmerman and Tony Pasquesi have the play-by-play call on aabaseball.tv and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network on the Mixlr app.