Winnipeg, MB – The Gary SouthShore RailCats could do no wrong on a beautiful Friday night in Manitoba as they thrashed the Winnipeg Goldeyes 15-1.
The ‘Cats set season highs in runs, hits, and home runs as they recorded their largest margin of victory in 2022.
After a scoreless first inning, the RailCats opened the scoring in the top of the second. Alec Olund tripled to the center field wall for Tom Walraven to single him in and put Gary SouthShore on the board.
In their next turn at-bat, the ‘Cats struck again, this time for a pair of runs. Daniel Lingua led off by depositing his fifth home run of the season over the right-field fence, and the middle of the order picked up on the team’s momentum. LG Castillo singled and Sam Abbott got hit by a pitch to place runners on first and second before Chris Burgess ripped a single to left field, plating Castillo and handing Gary SouthShore a three-run buffer over the Goldeyes.
Michael Woodworth followed up in the top of the fourth by single-handedly rounding the bases through his own savvy. He drew a one-out walk and immediately stole second base, advancing to third on a groundout. A couple of pitches later, Woodworth scampered home on a wild pitch, extending the RailCat lead to four.
In the next frame, a pair of long balls kept the Gary SouthShore offense humming. Abbott led off with a base hit, and Burgess connected on a home run which hit the batter’s eye in center field. The Goldeyes would get the next two outs and turn to the bullpen to try and secure the third, but Walraven proved that to be a bad idea. He greeted reliever Freisis Adames to the ballgame by taking him deep to left field, and the RailCats extended their advantage to seven runs.
While the lineup fired on all cylinders, starting pitcher Jack Eisenbarger dominated on the mound. He tossed five shutout innings, permitting just three hits and one walk while striking out a single-game high of nine hitters in a winning effort.
As the RailCats turned to the bullpen in the bottom of the sixth, the Goldeyes broke through for their lone run. Ian Sagdal and Logan Hill walked to position runners on first and second, and Raul Navarro produced a single that brought Sagdal home to pull Winnipeg within six.
However, Gary SouthShore responded right away, canceling out Winnipeg’s tally with a trio of their own. Abbott drew a leadoff walk, and Jackson Smith drove him in through a one-out double. Despite the Goldeyes picking up the second out, Walraven made sure to convert the runner in scoring position as he smacked his second home run of the game off the left-field foul pole and propelled the ‘Cats into double digits in the run column.
Yeison Medina and Augie Voight combined for two consecutive scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, and the RailCats offense got back to work in the ninth. A pair of base hits and a walk loaded the bases with two outs, and Jesus Marriaga‘s opposite-field single augmented the Gary SouthShore edge to 10 runs. Castillo, the ensuing batter, blasted a grand slam to cap off the scoring, as his four runs batted in shot the ‘Cats ahead 15-1.
Needing just three outs to lock down the win, Jared Price came out of the bullpen and navigated around a walk to send the RailCats home as the victors.
The RailCats head back to Shaw Park tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. for game three of this four-game series against the Goldeyes. All the action will be streamed on www.aabaseball.tv, 95.9 WEFM, and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network through the Mixlr app.
