The Gary SouthShore RailCats (37-52) were five outs away from a series-clinching win, but thanks to three runs in the eighth, the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (43-47) stormed back to take Thursday’s series finale 6-4.
The RailCats offense, though, threw the first punch. In the second inning, Jesus Marriaga doubled to lead off the frame, and after swiping third base, he scored on an LG Castillo fielder’s choice, placing the ‘Cats jumped ahead 1-0.
One inning later, the Gary SouthShore offense went back to work. Seth Caddell and Gio Díaz connected on back-to-back singles to begin the frame. Jackson Valera walked to load the bases, and Jesus Marriaga got hit by a pitch to force home another run, adding onto the RailCats lead.
Fargo-Moorhead got on the board in the fourth inning with a fielder’s choice, but they could only manage one run. Redhawks shortstop Sam Dexter was picked off at first base and forced a rundown, and as Evan Alexander dashed for home plate, Valera threw a perfect strike to cut him down. That kept Gary SouthShore in front 2-1 heading to the bottom of the fourth.
Gary SouthShore’s offense scored for a third straight inning in the fourth in exciting fashion. With one out, Francisco Del Valle was plunked by a pitch, setting the stage for Caddell. The catcher then stepped up and uncorked a two-out, two-run home run to left field, catapulting the RailCats to a three-run advantage at 4-1.
Julio Vivas made his 15th start of the season on the mound and exited with the RailCats in front. The right-hander threw five innings of two-run ball, striking out four RedHawks hitters in the process.
But from there the Fargo-Moorhead offense used three home runs of their own to take control of the game. The RedHawks homered once in the sixth and twice in the eighth, plating five unanswered runs to win 6-4.
The RailCats return to The Steel Yard tomorrow evening at 6:45 p.m. for their final home series of the regular season against the Chicago Dogs (49-40). All the action will be streamed on www.aabaseball.tv and broadcast over the radio on 95.9 WEFM and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network via the Mixlr app.
