The Gary SouthShore RailCats fired on all cylinders against the Lake Country DockHounds as they powered their way to a 9-1 victory on Independence Day.
The ‘Cats offense produced 11 hits and drew eight walks while Harrison Francis dazzled on the mound to put on a show for the fans at The Steel Yard worthy of the Fourth of July.
The batting order wasted no time against DockHounds starter Brent Jones as they jumped out to a first inning lead. Michael Woodworth singled with one out, and three consecutive walks brought him home to score. A wild pitch plated Daniel Lingua from third, and after an early pitching change, Michael Cruz greeted reliever Devin Beckley by doubling down the right-field line, placing the RailCats in front 4-0.
Gary SouthShore continued to pile on in their next turn at bat. Tom Walraven worked a one-out walk and immediately stole second base. Woodworth walked and Lingua singled to fill the bases, and Victor Nova beat out a would-be inning-ending double play to force a fielder’s choice that increased the RailCats lead to five.
Lake Country answered back in the fourth inning through a Wilfredo Gimenez home run, but the RailCats more than cancelled it out by generating a trio of runs in the fifth, all coming with two outs. Jesus Marriaga and Cruz ripped consecutive doubles to push the negate the long ball before Chris Burgess walked to place runners on first and second base. Sam Abbott and Alec Olund then delivered back-to-back run-scoring base hits, furthering the Gary SouthShore advantage to 8-1.
Just one frame later, the RailCats once again rallied with two outs for another tally. Nova doubled to left-center field, and Marriaga sent him to home plate on a single, increasing their run total to nine.
While the lineup clicked, Francis continued to pitch brilliantly. The All-Star selection went further than any Gary SouthShore starter in 2022, tossing seven one-run innings while allowing five hits and striking out four en route to his second win of the season.
Robbie Coursel took over in relief in the top of the eighth inning and threw two scoreless innings to close the DockHounds out. He stranded three runners on base to put the finishing touches on an impressive all-around team display.
The RailCats and DockHounds face off tomorrow at The Steel Yard at 6:45 p.m. for game two of this midweek series. All the action can be found on www.aabaseball.tv, 95.9 WEFM, and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network through the Mixlr app.