Franklin, WI – The Gary SouthShore RailCats unleashed their power swings and rolled over the Milwaukee Milkmen 8-2 to take the series opener.
Four home runs in the final three innings helped them overcome a set of early offensive struggles and supplement starter Chris Erwin‘s brilliant pitching performance.
Through the first four innings, pitching and defense stole the show. Neither team could get anything going at the plate as both teams only produced one hit.
In the bottom of the fifth, Milwaukee got their offense going to draw first blood. Aaron Hill led off by doubling to the left-center field wall, and Brian Torres’ single two batters later put the Milkmen up 1-0.
However, their lead was short-lived. Sam Abbott led off with a leadoff double of his own, and Zach Racusin advanced him to third on an infield single. Tom Walraven then brought Abbott home on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at one.
While the RailCats got their bats going, Erwin continued to dominate on the mound. Through his six innings, he allowed just one run on three hits, striking out a season-high eight to cap off his longest start of the year.
At the start of the seventh inning, the ‘Cats began to take control. Michael Cruz led off with a solo shot to right-center field to give Gary SouthShore their first lead, and after Jesus Marriaga walked and stole second base, Abbott crushed a no-doubt home run over the right-field wall. Two batters later, Walraven deposited a 2-2 fastball over the left-field fence to cap off a four-run inning.
The Milkmen reduced the Gary SouthShore advantage to three on a Chad Sedio single, Javeyan Williams made sure to hold them to just one run. He unleashed a perfect throw from center field to throw out Bryan Torres going from first to third which curbed any potential Milwaukee momentum.
Following a scoreless eighth inning, the RailCats struck again in the top of the ninth. Marriaga and Alec Olund made their way to first and third base respectively, and Abbott scored them both as he crushed his second home run of the game.
With just three outs left to get, manager Lamarr Rogers turned to debutant Yeison Medina to finish the job. He recorded one strikeout in his first outing of the season as he shut the door on the Milkmen to secure the win.
The RailCats and Milkmen return to action at 6:00 p.m. at Franklin Field as John Sheaks (1-3, 4.31 ERA) goes up against Jake Matthys (2-3, 7.36 ERA). All the action will be streamed on www.aabaseball.tv, 95.9 WEFM, and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network on the Mixlr app.
