Gary SouthShore RailCats’s right-handed pitcher Jack Alkire was named Pointstreak Pitcher of the Week after the flame-throwing righty led the RailCats to a 7-1 win in a career-game against the Cleburne Railroaders.
For the first time in his career, the 24-year-old Alkire went the distance with nine innings of one-run baseball on just three hits with a season-low one walk and a career-best 10 strikeouts.
After the Railroaders would plate one in the opening frame, Alkire locked down a red-hot lineup for the ensuing eight innings while the Maryland native would concede just one hit after the first.
With one-two-three innings in the second through fourth and sixth through ninth, Alkire retired 25 of the final 27 batters he would face and silenced Cleburne’s final 12 batters of the contest, five via swinging strikeout, in the series opener victory.
The RailCats’ bats added some insurance early with a six-run opening frame, the most runs scored in a first inning by the RailCats all season long, and Alkire sat on the cushion for the rest of the contest.
While Alkire’s gem marks the third complete game of the season, the right-hander is the sole RailCat to throw nine innings this season in the longest outing of the year by any RailCats' starter.
Additionally, Alkire is now the second RailCats starter named Pointstreak Pitcher of the Week after Trevor Lubking was dealt the honor with an eight-inning, 12 strikeout performance on June 24 against the Sioux Falls Canaries.