The Gary SouthShore RailCats made the Chicago Dogs sweat in their series finale at The Steel Yard, but a masterful pitching performance provided the boost the visitors needed to capture a 3-0 win.
The ‘Cats outhit the Dogs eight to seven, but Chicago came up with big swings in clutch moments to get the result.
Both teams started off quietly as they exchanged scoreless innings in the first and second, but the Dogs slugged their way onto the scoreboard in the third. Connor Kopach hit a home run to right-center field, putting them ahead 1-0.
It took a while for either squad to get anything going offensively as starting pitching took control. For the RailCats, Chris Erwin supplied his ace stuff through the first 6.2 innings. He only permitted the home run and just three hits, striking out four to keep Gary SouthShore within arm’s reach.
However, with two outs in the top of the seventh, the Chicago lineup woke back up. Two straight walks prompted a pitching change, and Kopach supplied another clutch swing. He ripped a double down the left-field line to chase home a critical insurance run to place the Dogs ahead by two.
Down by a pair, the RailCats got their bats going and brought the go-ahead run to the plate. Tom Walraven drew an eight-pitch, two-out walk, his second of the contest, and Michael Woodworth got hit by a pitch which gave the ‘Cats a chance, but a pitching change helped lift the Dogs out of danger. A strikeout stranded both runners on base and kept the Chicago lead intact.
With the momentum in hand, the Dogs took advantage in their next turn at-bat. Stevie Wilkerson golfed a solo home run over the left-field fence, extending their advantage to three runs.
As just three outs separated them from defeat, the RailCats fought back to give themselves a chance to tie things up. Jesus Marriaga and Alec Olund stroked consecutive one-out singles to set the tying run in the batter’s box, but a double play quashed any hope for a comeback, allowing the Dogs to finish off the victory.
The RailCats hit the road tomorrow as they travel to Legends Field to take on the Kansas City Monarchs at 7:00 p.m. All the action will be streamed on www.aabaseball.tv, 95.9 WEFM, and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network through the Mixlr app.
