RailCats Drop Series Finale to Milkmen
By Zach Letson, Gary SouthShore RailCats
Gary, IN – The Gary SouthShore RailCats (10-9) fell behind early and dropped Thursday night’s series finale against the Milwaukee Milkmen (9-9).
Milwaukee profited from a four-run, two-out rally in the second inning to begin the scoring. After being just one strike away from ending the frame, Justin Williams delivered a run-scoring single, and catcher Cam Balego followed up one batter later by belting a two-run home run. Bryan Torres chipped in an RBI single shortly afterward, providing the Milkmen an early edge.
Emmanuel Tapia got the RailCats back on track with a long ball of his own in the bottom of the same inning. The lefty launched an opposite-field blast, his second home run of the year, to put Gary SouthShore on the board.
However, the Milkmen continued their strong offensive display by plating three runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. Aaron Hill recorded an RBI double in the fourth before connecting on a three-run home run in the fifth, helping the Milkmen open up a 10-1 advantage.
Tapia stepped up once more to help Gary SouthShore fight back again in the bottom of the fifth. The first basemen crushed his second solo home run, a no-doubter into the right field seats, making him the first RailCat this season to record a multi-home run game. His big swing brought the RailCats within eight at 10-2 in the fifth.
An inning later, the ‘Cats inched closer. Following a Daniel Lingua walk and Gio Díaz single, LG Castillo singled Lingua home, cutting the deficit to 10-3.
The final run of the game came in the eighth inning as Castillo came through yet again. Díaz singled and Victor Nova walked to lead off the frame, and the left fielder supplied a base hit to chase Díaz home, polishing off his third multi-hit game of the series. Gary SouthShore’s third straight run made the score 10-4.
Castillo’s RBI marks his team-leading 18th and moves him into a tie for first place in the American Association with 29 hits.
Despite the emergence of Aaron Phillips and Jack Eisenbarger from the bullpen to blank the Milkmen over the final four innings, their early efforts proved to be enough to secure the win.
The RailCats hit the road for Sioux Falls Stadium tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. to take on the Sioux Falls Canaries (7-12) for game one of a four-game series against the Sioux Falls Canaries (7-12). All action can be found on aabaseball.tv or over the radio on 95.9 WEFM and the Gary SouthShore RailCats Broadcast Network through the Mixlr app.