Despite a valiant late-game rally with five Gary SouthShore RailCats (8-5) runs in the final four innings, the Kane County Cougars (4-9) held on for a 9-5 victory in game one between the Eastern Division foes in 2023 at the Steel Yard Friday night.
Chris Erwin got the ball for a third time in 2023 and tied his season-high eight strikeouts, including two innings in which the lefty struck out the side. Eight of the 11 outs he recorded were by way of the punchout before giving way to the RailCats bullpen.
At the plate, Francisco Del Valle picked up his ninth RBI of the season and produced Gary SouthShore’s first run. His sixth-inning RBI single proved to be the first domino in a late-game RailCats push.
The RailCats showed off their plate discipline in the seventh inning as they rallied for three runs without a single hit. Emmanuel Tapia, LG Castillo, and Del Valle all forced a run home with bases-loaded walks to push Gary SouthShore closer and make it a 9-4 game.
While the RailCats offense found its footing, Jared Price took over on the mound and was dominant in his first appearance of 2023. In his first appearance of the season, he retired the final seven batters he faced, fanning two in a 2.1-inning scoreless appearance.
Gary SouthShore still had more fight left in them down to their final three outs. After Tapia cranked his second double of the game, LG Castillo extended his season-opening hitting streak to 13 games with a single immediately after. Castillo’s hit streak continues to 15, dating back to the 2022 season.
Del Valle drove in his third run of the night on a deep sacrifice fly that brought the RailCats closer at 9-5, but unfortunately, the comeback bid ended there as the Cougars finished off the win.
The RailCats are back at it for game two with the Cougars tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. at The Steel Yard, continuing their seven-game homestand. 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 through the Mixlr app.
