07/30/2004 9:27 AM - KANSAS CITY – Rick Prieto continued his uncanny assault on Northern League pitching and Matt McClellan won his second straight start as the T-Bones ambushed the RailCats, 9-2, Friday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. For Kansas City (8-8, 28-36), it was the team’s third straight win and its seventh victory over Gary in eight meetings this season.

Kansas City rallied from an early 2-1 deficit with six runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by a two-run triple by Prieto and a two-run home run by Chad Hill. For Prieto, it was his second triple on the night, his third triple in the past two nights, and his fourth three-bagger in his last four games. The hot-hitting veteran, who also added a double in the sixth, is batting .722 (13-for-18) in his last five contests and has now hit safely in his last 10.

McClellan (6-3) allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits in six strong innings. He faced the minimum number of batters in the first, fifth, and sixth innings, and improved to 3-0 on the season against Gary. Travis Kerber (1-3) took the loss for the RailCats, who fell to 8-8, 21-43, on the year. Kerber allowed five runs on six hits in 4.2 innings.

The T-Bones sent 10 batters to the plate in the sixth inning, which began when Cody Nowlin slapped a single through the right side of the infield. Phil Thompson, who led off the third inning with his second home run of the season, advanced Nowlin with a sacrifice bunt and Matt Ceriani followed with a walk to put runners on first and second. After a strikeout, Prieto gave the T-Bones a 3-2 lead with a triple into the corner in right field and came around to score on Hill’s fifth homer of the year. Mike Brown capped off the big inning with a two-run double to the gap in right-center field that brought home Ray Brown and Eddie Pearson. Thompson closed out the scoring for the game with a two-run double in the eighth.

The RailCats jumped on top early with a pair of runs in the third inning thanks to a sacrifice fly by Curt Lee and a fielding error by Nowlin off the bat of Juan Camacho that allowed Anthony Iapoce to score. The T-Bones and RailCats will continue their four-game series Saturday night beginning at 7:05. Jonathan Krysa (5-6, 3.23) will head to the hill for Kansas City and will oppose Gary’s Dan Soria (3-4, 4.79).

Game Notes: Prieto tied, and then passed teammate Jack Jones for the NL lead in triples with his sixth and seventh three-baggers of the season. It was the first time a T-Bones’ player has recorded two triples in a game this year. Prieto, who last accomplished the feat against Joliet (5/27/03) last season, is the only T-Bones player in the two-year history of the franchise to do so… Thompson’s home run in the third inning was his first since going deep on opening night against Lincoln on May 20th.

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